Anza appeared out of Levi. It curled up on the floor next to his bed. Levi was sound asleep after the professor had dropped him off. Exhaustion finally getting the best of him. He barely made it to his bed before his eyelids slammed shut. Snoring and drooling, Levi had a dreamless sleep. Several hours passed when he finally woke up. What woke him up was not feeling refreshed, he still felt tired. It was his stomach screaming at him for not putting any food there since the kebabs.

Scratching his head he put on the robes that were assigned for all students and his cloak. He looked at the beautifully peaceful cloak. He wondered how this could be considered chaos. Unless everything he had known about chaos was wrong. He concluded that that was likely the correct answer. Two days ago, he thought magic was only in video games and movies. But not anymore, he had a Mimic for crying out loud, that was the most magical thing he had ever seen.

Looking at Anza, he smiled. Even though they couldn’t communicate directly, he was grateful to have a buddy. There wasn’t much excitement right now for Levi, as he was alone at this guild. The campus reminded him of a small castle: stone walls with large arches that looked over the city. Little lights, if any, hung on the walls. He found his way to the kitchen, where again, there was no one there. Anza had been following him along the whole ride.

“This is weird, right?” Levi asked Anza, and it nodded. We saw all those people yesterday, and there is not a soul in here. Not even upstairs. It's low-key creepy how there is no sound, no noise, no aspect of life.” Anza nodded slowly, keeping its alien eyes open and sharp. “Maybe we’ll grab our food and go into the guild square.”

Levi sat at a large table by himself in the square; the sun was still out and there was a crisp breeze. Levi was thankful the cloak provided some protection from the breeze. He would hand Anza some food every ten bites or so. Because there are so few students, or whatever the guild calls them, he has no one to share the portions with. It’s all for him. Levi’s cloak did a good job at hiding the robe for the summoner’s guild. People would approach him and say hi from time to time, mostly to compliment Anza.

“I’m telling you,” Piper said. “There should have been some sort of disciplinary action for how he treated me.” She was walking up the insane staircase, talking to some friends. They all had similar jedi-ninja combat armor that Piper was wearing. With a small pin with the symbol of the rogues. There were two guys and another girl. They all walked lightly on their feet to where no sound was coming from their steps. All four of them also walked in perfect cadence.

“What do you think is gonna happen,” one of the men said.

“Oh, I dunno, hopefully a dual or something. I would love to whip him in to shape,” she punched her fist into her palm. This got a laugh from the group. Reaching the top the group stopped to look at the new person with a familiar. They had been attending their guild for nearly six months now and they practically knew everyone, and they definitely knew everyone with a familiar. This guy was new.

“You see that?” the same man asked.

“I do,” Piper responded. “What kind of creature is that?”

“Not a clue,” he said. “What kind of cloak is that? Is he new?”

“He must be, I have never seen anyone with either a familiar or that cloak here before. Come on.”

“Uhh, you go on ahead, Piper,” the man said. With a small nod, he said, “We don’t really need new friends,” and then he walked toward his dorm.

“Hey,” Piper said, walking up to the table.

“Uh hello,” Levi said. Turning to see Piper standing there. “Oh…” embarrassment coming back fully after he recognized who it was.

“Oh, it’s you!” Piper said with a big smile. “Sad.”

“What is?” Levi asked, confused.

“You found some clothes,” she said with a sly smile.

“Ahh ha yeah,” Levi awkwardly replied. “I was able to buy some stuff.” He looked down after a few seconds of eye contact. Piper rolled her eyes and smiled. She took a seat across from him so she could see him. She smelt like flowers, and her gray eyes were fixated on the man in front of him. Levi thanked whatever creator that was out there that he was black because he would be blushing forsure. Anza saw what was happening with its summoner and started making a low laughing, metallic sounding noise. “Oh, quiet you,” he playfully snapped.

“You had a familiar with you?” Piper asked. “Where did you get money to buy clothes? Why were you naked in the forest? Who are you?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Levi said, waving his hands for her to slow down. He had eaten a good portion of his meal and was slowly sipping on water. The food he ate was fine; it was typical cafeteria food, things he had eaten most of his life. He joked at how cafeteria food being average was interdimensional. “Already forgot my name,” he said sadly.

“Of course, not Levi Winters,” she said with a big smile. “Just interesting enough to hold on to. Are you going to answer my questions?”

“Uhhh,” Levi hadn’t thought of a good cover story yet. To be honest, he never expected to see Piper or Anna ever again. However, he was not mad at it. Piper was beautiful. She was friendly, bubbly, and something else he couldn’t figure it out yet. I can’t just say, oh I fell out the sky, woke up, bumped my head, and here I am. That sounds crazy. “I will answer your questions eventually…” he said slowly. Perfectly, smooth and executed.

Piper frowned slightly, “Do you even remember me?”

“What?” Levi said. Caught off guard by the question. “Of course I do. You’re Piper Vendular, how could I forget such a beau-” he paused, realizing his mouth had begun speaking without his permission.

“Such a what?” she asked with a smirk. “You trailed off there, I must have missed it. You were saying something about a beauuu” Piper mocked with a slight giggle. Before Levi could say anything, another voice called.

“Piper,” Anna said, waving.

“Hi, Anna,” Piper said, waving back.

“How was your class?” Anna asked. “Oh, hello there.”

“Hi Anna,” Levi said. He was not stoked to be seeing both women again at the same time.

“Oh, you’re ummm…”

“Levi,” he said.

“Right, the naked man.” Anna said. She looked at Anza. “You had a familiar?”

“That’s what I asked him,” Piper asked.

“What guild are you attending,” Anna asked.

“Oh, that’s a better question,” Piper said.

“Summoner’s,” Levi said. “It’s my first day here. Although, I think I am the only person.” He said looking around, unable to find anyone who was wearing the summoner’s robes.

Anna laughed, “You’re a summoner??”

“Well, kind of,” Levi said. “Why are there so few students.”

“Because,” Anna said. “No one wants to be a summoner. They are weak and cannot actually fight in battles. They can’t kill monsters, clear dungeons, or complete raids, by themselves. They have to have a summoned creature do it. It is one of the hardest classes to rank up in.”

“It is unusual to see someone actually attend the guild. Guild lessons are only a year-long, and it has been nearly a decade since the last summoner was seen.” Piper added. “Why did you choose to be a summoner?”

“Well,” Levi said. “I didn’t. It was chosen for me.” He looked at Anza, his familiar. “But” he said before the women could ask him more questions. “I am grateful it did happen cause I met Anza and that was the best thing to happen to me so far.”

“How long have you had a Mimic familiar? How did you even get one?” Anna asked, giving an assessing look at Anza.

“Two days, I summoned it. It is my summoned familiar bond.” Levi replied proudly.

“Whoa,” they both said at the same time. Piper giggled even more, giving him a look that Levi could not decipher as she looked him up and down once more.

“What?” He asked.

“Mimics are not easy to summon. Even if doing a standard summoning ritual, the Mimic would not willingly say yes to becoming a familiar if you were some weakling.”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“If you’re saying I’m some strong and powerful summoner, it ain’t me,” Levi said, putting his hands up once again. This time, he flexed and looked at his skinny arms. “See, nothing there.”

Anna gave Levi an assessing look.

“Why do you keep looking at me like that?” He asked. “It’s very off putting.”

“I’m trying to see if you’re an idiot or an exceptional liar.”

“Neither, but I’ll lean more idiot than for you to think I’m exceptional,” Levi said, chuckling.

“That’s an odd answer,” Anna said. “You don’t deny being an idiot?”

“You strike me as someone with high standards, impossibly high. So, I probably am an idiot to you.” It was getting dark, and Levi, once again, was getting tired. He stood up and stretched lightly. “Thanks for making my day, Piper,” he said awkwardly. He looked at Anna, “Anna” he said with a nod and walked away.

Thanks for making my day? Levi thought. I might be an idiot. Piper stood there smiling at the man walking away. She stared for a bit longer then turned to Anna. Levi was fun and awkward. To Piper, that was cute, he was unsure of himself and that was different. She couldn’t even keep track of the amount of men who would try to assert their masculinity in their faces. She was sick of it. So much ego and testosterone that they couldn’t even focus on their guilds. But not Levi. He was different, he was very different.

“What a strange man,” Anna said. “Is he stranger today than when we first met him?”

“Of yes for sure,” Piper responded. “But he seems less… confused.”

“Anza, I’m so confused,” Levi said to his familiar. “There has to be something in here that allows us to communicate,” Levi said, combing through the skill book he had received. He hoped that there would be a section on language adaptation between familiars, but to his disappointment, he was unable to find anything. He took a seat on the floor and sighed. Anza took a seat next to him and rested its alien head on his lap. He petted it slowly, finding the action to be comforting to both. It had been two and a half days since waking up in this new world, apart from the overwhelming sense that came from having to learn so many new things. He was enjoying his time.

He went to take a shower. To his surprise, there had actually been a shower. He hadn’t seen anything like plumbing in the world since he had been here, but to be honest, he hadn’t checked. Levi spent some time investigating. He noticed that the nobs to release the water were stones similar to what Anna had. Wait stones, stones that Anna used to allow him to speak to each other. Maybe that was it; maybe he needed to give Anza a stone. Almost as quickly as it came, his enthusiasm deflated as his mind named numerous things wrong with that line of thinking.

Back to the stones, one had a blue symbol, and the other had a red symbol. Touching both, water started pouring out of the spout, with good water pressure. Levi appreciated good water pressure in his showers, and it was an important thing that often went unnoticed. Letting the warm water splash against his face. He sighed deeply again. Levi was reflecting on his life before here. He felt like he wasted it. Never really having anything great done, no high achievements, no standout moments, to him, it was all standard. Was there anything wrong with being fine? With being average? Most people are average, that’s why it’s called average. For some reason, being here, it felt like he had left something behind, but he hadn’t.

He spent a long-time scrubbing. He had run/walked the better part of six kilometers today, the most he had ever done. Surprisingly, the river wash did really well washing the smell away, but he felt disgusting. Levi’s skin was caked with dried river water, sweat, and mud. It was a horrible combination. The soap that was provided was everything he could ever dream of. It smelt like warm citrus in the summer. With a satisfied sigh, he exited the shower.

Levi closed his eyes, letting sleep once again take over.

Levi woke up to the sunshine entering his room. The room was cool, and he had slept amazingly. Whatever this mattress was, he was happy to have it. Looking over, he saw Anza sprawled out in the sunshine. The professor said that he could and should explore the campus. That was his plan to explore. Maybe find some answers and another helpful guide. This was a summoner’s school, after all. Levi wasn’t thrilled that he had to wear a robe while at the guild; it felt to preppy magic wizard school for his liking. But his cloak did a good job at hiding it.

After getting ready for the day, Anza and Levi left the room to explore the empty halls. They made their way to the dining hall and grabbed some bread and cheese. Breakfast was much lighter than what he had expected but he appreciated the free food and board.

“Does it cost anything to attend these schools?” Levi asked again to himself. “I realized we didn’t negotiate any payment.” Anza looked at him with a contemplative gaze. “Yeah, we’ll probably find that out.” As they explored the campus, Levi found all sorts of interesting rooms. There was an exercise room equipped with crude iron dumbbells, barbells, and weighted plates. He found a swimming pool, a few classrooms, a giant room full of ritual circles on the ground, what looked like an abandoned dungeon, and the library. All in all, if there were more people around this place would be pretty cool. It was still pretty cool, but the undertone of creepy was just too strong.

Levi and Anza walked into the library to see rows and rows of books. Perusing the two went to the “familiars” section and searched for Mimic. With excitement, Levi had pulled three books off the shelf. He started thumbing through the book and they were not very helpful. Just information on where they come from, that they are typically evil, and to never under any circumstances summon one. Levi, with a nervous eye, looked at Anza, who gave a heartwarming nuzzle. He shrugged. What’s done is done. Levi thought nothing he could do about it now.

The book talked about how Mimics are often known to be creatures of chaos, which was not new news to Levi. This book called it a “World-Conquering Organism”. Levi looked up from reading that line to stare at his familiar. With its tentacles, Levi could have sworn that it shrugged. It said that the mimics have three classes: a drone- which is what Anza was, an alpha, and an omega. The omega was the creator and controller of mimics, they were hive-minded creatures. Once again, Levi looked at Anza who now was giving him its best, I’m innocent look. Levi shrugged and said it was fine. It had plenty of time to kill him and run rampant and it hadn’t yet.

Every book had talked about how awful and scary these creatures were, it was disconcerting. All books besides one Chapter in one book. The book talked about the Mimics are extremely loyal, especially if summoned at a lower rank. Having a young Mimic is a sign of good fortune as they provide faithful companions. The Chapter even described how the summoner and its familiar can get closer and thus open lines of communication. There were two ways to do it. The first way was to bond, over time, the bond would become so great that the two would be able to communicate telepathically in their own language.

The second way, the way that was not recommended, was much more dangerous. It was conducting a ritual with the bonded familiar in the center of the circle, replacing a potential rune marking. It described how it could do one of two things. First, it could allow that bond of internal telepathic communication to be formed instantly. Or two, it could create a bond fueled by chaos energy, which could leave both the familiar and the summoner to be combined into one being.

Anza and Levi looked at each other, and they decided just to build their bond over time, like any healthy relationship in life. After feeling like he had gotten at least one of his looming questions answered he returned to his room. He looked over his character log.

Character Log: Levi Winters

Class: Summoner

Rank: 1 Star

Ability: Ritualist

Ability: Elected Stranger

Ability: Familiar Bond

Ability: Locked

Ability: Locked

Stats Total 202:

Strength 18

Speed 17

Stamina 17

Vitality 50

Wisdom 100

Spell Log:

Orbs of Chaos

Orbs of Water

Levi was curious about something. His mana bar was noticeably different from his stamina bar, which made sense; his stamina stat was much lower than his wisdom stat. He was curious if it was a direct one-to-one ratio. If that were the case, it would be very low. He couldn’t see how that could possibly be useful for any user of mana. Then he remembered he could change the UI and how things are read. He changed it so instead of it being a solid bar it was now numbers. Mana now reads 1000/1000, and stamina reads 170/170. A ten times ratio. This was good to know that meant his speed was at 170, strength was at 180, and his vitality was at 500. He was still curious about vitality as he didn’t have any health points. What did the numbers mean? He guessed the same for speed and strength. Since it wasn’t directly how much you can use or expand but a numerical value to describe how potent it is.

He wondered if this was common knowledge to those who had lived here their whole lives and was afraid to ask anyone. This was something he could hopefully learn as he was in a guild, after all.

“Professor Egret,” Levi said, approaching the small professor in her office.

“Yes, Levi,” she replied.

“When do classes start? I’m trying to figure out what to do with my days until then.”

“You are a prudent man now aren’t you,” she replied with a bright smile. “I was going to give this to you today.” She handed him a small stone. “This is your class schedule. Inject your mana into it and all the information you need will appear.” She explained, noting the confused look on Levi’s face. “Because our class size is now just you. You will have me and one other professor. We will be able to speed through the basics in order that you might become a worthy summoner yet! As you may have known,” she continued. “Guilds are nothing more than universities. Every big city has one; they are usually only a year long, and it helps you prepare to make adventuring teams go on quests, dungeonering, raids, and fighting monsters. Due to the low numbers, we should be set to have you graduate in six months, right on time with the other guilds.”

“This is an awkward question,” Levi said. “How do I pay?”

“Pay?” She said with a quizzical look. “Why would you pay when you chose us?”

“But I didn’t choose you,” Levi said. “I was chosen.”

“What do you mean chosen? Where are you from?” Professor Egret asked.

“Uhh Rancho Cucamonga,” Levi replied.

“Cuca-mon-ga,” she replied slowly. “Are you not from the Onyx kingdom?”

“No,” Levi said. “I’m not from this world.”

Professor Egret froze. Levi looked at the frozen elf professor. Levi didn’t really get a look at Professor Egret, but she was quite pretty. She also only looked to be 30 years old. She had delicate features with blonde hair tucked behind two tapered ears. Her skin was bronze, and her eyes were green. By all accounts, she was beautiful. She could pass as a model in Levi’s old world.

“Professor,” Levi finally said.

She got up and shut her door. She chanted something under her breath. The room shimmered for a couple of seconds, then returned to normal. Her tone was suddenly serious, and her gaze was sharp.

“I have placed a veil over us to protect our conversation from prying ears. What do you mean, from another world? Tell me everything.”