Author's note - Happy new year!
The first draft of Summon the Eternal book 1 is pretty much 'done' on my Patreon page at 157 chapters. My plan is to go back and edit all of book 1 and hopefully commit enough time to be able to self-publish it. I think STE has a lot of potential but also a lot of room for improvement. Editing will definitely be a challenge. I also need to consider what to do for book 2 and plan out my time commitments.
Going forward, public chapters will slow down, perhaps only 1 chapter a week. I don't have any more new chapters. I don't plan on starting book 2 until book 1 is edited.
Chapter numbers will change after editing. I wrote 'smaller' chapters for online serialization but I always intended my chapters to be at least two smaller chapters put together. This is why most all of the chapters have (I) and (II) parts.
I don't know how long the editing process will take for book 1. It will take as long as it needs to... I want to put out something i am satisfied with.
That is all for now. Stay tuned.
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At the signal, Aaron White’s previously calm expression flashed with an expression of viciousness, as if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time. His hand reached for his summoner belt. There wasn’t a single summoning card in sight. All of his summons were in soul orbs.
Rays of light shot out of his brow. One by one, they took three distinct shapes in front of him. The first was a tall treant with knobby arms and legs. Aaron was already tall but the treant was even taller by three or four heads. Next was a giant stag beetle, larger than any Zachary had ever seen. Its body was as wide as a table while its sharp horns were like a pair of spears. The third summon was a strangely colored mantis. Its body was green but it was covered in bright red spots. There was something strange about them.
On the other side, Katherine also summoned two creatures. They were a pair of green-striped tigers with what looked like leaves growing out of their fur. The two beasts easily dwarfed her small stature.
“Woah! The cat lady summoned cats! They’re huge!” Wander laughed.
Zachary ignored the easily amused turtle and watched the duel intently. Both sides had just summoned their initial lineup and were studying their opponent. He didn’t know where Katherine managed to find those two tigers. They seemed strong and were definitely rare. This was his first time seeing this species.
Aaron was the first to act. He pointed to Katherine and spoke inaudible commands to his summons. The stag beetle and the mantis flew up and headed towards her, hovering low to the ground.
Katherine reacted swiftly. She hopped into the smaller of the two tigers and patted its back.
“Jade, Emerald, let’s go!” She shouted.
Both tigers roared and charged ahead, with the one named Jade carrying her along. They headed straight for the two flying insects, intending to collide head-on.
From the far side, Aaron sneered at her effort. Such clashes were his bugs’ specialty. They had low intelligence but did not lack in strength or defense. They could keep fighting even if they were gravely wounded.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Kill her!” He commanded and the two bugs picked up speed, aiming their sharp horns and claws at the charging tigers.
“Leaf wall!” Katherine’s sharp cry rang out.
The leaves growing on each tiger’s fur came to life. They seemingly multiplied and shot out ahead of them, creating a flurry of green leaves that was difficult to see through. Such an attack and the ability to manipulate leaves reminded him of Archer, his leafy spider.
With the wall of leaves flying at them, the two bugs were confused by the situation. They were moving too fast to dodge but they could no longer see their target. They had no time to think and they blindly charged into the fray.
However, Katherine and the two tigers were no longer there.
“Roarrrr!”
“Roarrr!”
Two roars echoed across the dueling field as the tigers leaped over the leaf wall and the charging insects. They landed and continued their full sprint, heading directly for where Aaron stood.
Katherine’s ruthlessness was eye-opening. She had no intention to fight the insects. From the beginning, her target was always the opposing summoner. This was only possible because she was riding her summons. If she wasn’t, those insects would be free to attack her where she had stood.
Aaron’s face flashed with anger but not panic. He moved a few steps behind the treant which served as his shield and summoned another creature. It was a purple snake which landed atop the treant’s head, curling around a branch securely.
“Berry, do it.”
The snake faced the incoming tigers and hissed threateningly. It opened its mouth, revealing a rapidly growing ball of white energy. Soul power surged. The ball of light sizzled and snapped, threatening to escape.
The hairs on Zachary’s skin stood on end. He realized what was coming the same instant it happened.
Ka!
Ka!
Two sharp cracks rang out as two bolts of electricity leaped from the snake’s mouth, striking the tigers. The beasts roared in pain and stopped their charge. Katherine was also hit but she bore the shock through clenched teeth.
“Haha, how is it? Painful right?” Aaron taunted.
He gestured and his insects came around, closing on Katherine from two directions, cutting off her path of retreat. In front, the snake kept its mouth open, charing its ball of electricity for another attack.
He grinned cruelly, “Time to die.”
Many in the audience felt the same and there were sighs of disappointment. The first duel was over so quickly. The difference in strength between number one and number sixteen was far too great.
In the stands, Judge Fletcher turned to converse with Captain Willis, completely disregarding the rest of the match. After all, the victor was already certain. Katherine had charged through the middle of the field in her gamble to attack Aaron directly. Now, even if she wanted to forfeit, she would be hard-pressed to escape the encirclement.
Zachary kept his eyes on Katherine. He knew that she wasn’t beaten yet. Although she hid a lot of secrets from him, she was not weak or incompetent. He had faith in that much.
Katherine steadied herself on top of her tiger. She whispered some commands and patted the beast’s head.
“Roarrrr!”
“Roarrr!”
The tigers regained their vigor and charged at Aaron. They were met by another two bolts of electricity after taking a few steps.
Ka!
Ka!
The shocking attacks struck once more. However, this time they had to go through a wall of flying leaves. And after scorching through the wall, the electricity only struck the bigger tiger which had blocked for the other one that Katherine was riding.
That tiger soon collapsed. The smell of scorched fur and flesh filled the air. It was unclear if it was still alive or dead.
Without pause, Katherine’s mount leaped over its fallen brethren and sprinted toward Aaron. The distance between them was now less than twenty meters. They would reach him after two breaths.
First breath…
Aaron reacted and summoned another beast to serve as his meat shield. Katherine closed the distance by half. Meanwhile, the purple snake was frantically charging up for another attack.
Second breath…
Aaron’s summon took physical shape. It was a huge seagull. Together with the treant, they formed a two-layered wall. Katherine and her tiger were only two or three meters away. The purple snake hissed as it prepared to launch a killing bow.
All of a sudden, almost too quick for human eyes to follow, a black and white blur leaped from Katherine without warning. It then disappeared into thin air before reappearing above the purple snake’s head. In that same instant, the purple snake was torn apart by impossibly rapid and sharp attacks, as if it had been sliced by a hundred blades.
Aaron was stunned. Everyone was stunned, stupefied.
What happened?
What in the saints happened?