Levi woke up first. He looked at Anza, who put her head up the second he looked at her. He smiled and nodded for her to follow. It was a pointless gesture, as she was going to follow regardless. The rest of the familiars kept sleeping, noticing their departure. They would move if they needed to, but Anza and her drones were plenty. At the current level, Levi could summon 100 additional drones.

Drones could be made again if they were destroyed. The cooldown varies depending on the amount of mana Levi puts in. It took him some time to figure this out, but he eventually learned it. Drones would be passively recreated inside his soul, then automatically fuse with his being, bolstering his vitality every 5 minutes. This meant that if he somehow lost all 100, it would take 500 minutes for him to fully restore the drones. That was passively, however. If Levi wanted to use some mana, it could decrease the time by a few minutes. It was mana intensive process to summon that many with mana.

With his mana pool being completely full, he could not summon all 100 without needing at least one mana potion, maybe two. It was not ideal if he lost them all. If Anza happened to be destroyed in battle, he would have to use all of his mana and redo a ritual to resummon her. She could not be passively resummoned. However, because she is linked to his soul, she would not be lost upon death. Levi sat on the hill that overlooked the village with Anza curled up next to him.

“How are you doing Anza?” Levi asked. He knew it had been a long time since the two of them chatted. She made a noise that sounded like a garbage disposal going off. “Nervous too huh.” Levi had no idea how he understood her but chalked it up to magic tomfoolery. She whirled her noise again. “I think we’ll be fine too, five years is a long time. By then, we should be well into the beginning stages of 4-star. Any idea how many drones we get at 4-stars?” She whirled. “Holy Hell… 10,000… damn that’s a lot. Yes I know you’re a world ending organism what is it at 5-star? Endless?”

Anza looked her sharp alien eyes into Levi’s. She nodded sharply. Levi pursed his lips and nodded, “duly noted.” he chuckled. Levi was delighted that he got Anza as his first familiar. She was pretty awesome but very reliable. Levi hadn’t ever considered if he would be here without her because the answer was a resounding no. Despite her being a beast in combat, the passive vitality boost is insane. Each drone provides three bonus vitality… three! That meant that, currently, with all of them in there, his vitality was nearly 600. That meant Levi’s stats were close to a sorcerer who recently advanced to 3-star.

“I have to imagine the vitality boost gets capped at some point,” Levi said. “30,000 extra vitality bonus seems stupidly unfair.” She whirled her ascent. “Yeah, I thought so, even so, it does make me want not to train vitality so much.” She gave Levi a flat look. “I’m kidding, I’ll stay on it, I swear.” He chuckled. A lot of his familiars had gotten really sassy with him as of late and Levi loved every second of it. To him, it made him feel like he was being treated with love and respect. As if they were finally comfortable enough with him, they could call him out on his BS.

“Thanks for spending this time with me, Anza,” Levi said. “It was good to catch up, ya know?” She nudged her head under his arm. He chuckled, and the two of them sat on the hill for an hour longer in a comfortable silence.

Piper walked out of her room after waking up. She saw Vapor and Serenity sitting together, conversing. She walked over to the two of them and said, " Good morning. Is Levi still asleep?”

“Levi left with Anza earlier this morning,” Serenity said.

“We all were asleep but I can feel their connection, they will be returning soon,” Vapor replied.

“Do you need sleep?” Piper asked Vapor.

“No. But I simply enter a sleep-like state in order to feel a connection with my summoner,” Vapor responded.

“Okay,” Piper said. Shortly after, the door clicked, and Levi walked in with Anza in tow. Piper smiled at Levi as she saw his face. Levi and Anza were carrying breakfast food for everyone. “Good morning, Levi,” Piper said.

“Good morning, love,” Levi responded. He walked over and kissed her cheek. “Sleep alright?”

“I sleep better with you,” she pouted. “I miss your cuddles.”

“I’m sure you do; who wouldn’t miss cuddling with all this,” he flexed his muscles. It was true Levi had put some muscle on since arriving in this new world. He went from being skin and bones to somewhat muscular and skinny. Piper tossed her head back in laughter. It was a sweet song to Levi’s ears. He loved her smile. Whenever Piper laughed, her eyes would look like they were closed shut and arched into their own smile. It was the cutest thing.

Levi couldn’t help but stare at Piper’s gray eyes. She smiled back. Her hair was up in a ponytail, and her constant French braids kept her dark brown hair nice and tidy. Levi walked over and put his arms around her waist, pulling her in for a gentle yet firm hug. He kissed her neck and held her longer. They stayed in this embrace for several heartbeats until they heard someone clear their throat.

“We get it you two are cute,” Tycen said, floating out of the room. Anna followed in short order. “I don’t know about the rest of y’all, but I would rather fly than take the ferry back to the city.”

“I agree,” Piper said. “So much quicker.”

“I see no issue doing that,” Anna replied with a nod.

“Works for me,” Levi said. “I’m flying on a dragon, its a childhood dream.” Dameion woke up after all the commotion and made his way over to the group. He curled around Levi’s upper body like a snake would. Levi patted the void avatar’s head, which felt like petting sand that made one's hand slightly tingle.

The team took their time eating breakfast and talking to each other. They had grown close over the last few months precisely because of this routine. Every meal, they discussed each other’s lives growing up before magic, guilds, or team formation. None of them really knew how it began, but it was something that they didn’t want to leave without. It helped them all become more than teammates; they were friends, best friends, and the chemistry showed whenever they were out in the world.

They arrived in the Captial City around the same area that they left the night prior. Unlike yesterday, when they were trying to be inconspicuous, Levi let Anza roam with them. She wasn’t in her towering alpha form but the normal-sized drone form, much to her chagrin. Levi had insisted that she wouldn’t scare the good people of the city. She obliged with some level of unhappiness.

They hadn’t left the central city district on their first day, but they decided to branch out today. They followed different pathways, exploring the large city. They approached a district that had what looked like a laboratory or a library. The shops around this area were coffee and tea shops, with some bookstores. Bookstores in this world were interesting. Levi discovered that each store sold a specific thing, from standard fiction or non-fiction work to spell books and tomes.

Levi was, in general, surprised that there were normal books for entertainment, but it also made sense. What else was there to do for entertainment? There were no movies, television, or sports, at least to his knowledge. Anyways, they didn’t really need any books, especially after the Brawler’s Dungeon, but it was a quaint little district. Lush vines were growing over all the buildings, providing a more humid environment. It was extremely peaceful, and many people were reading books in the various shops.

The library was their target. Perhaps they could find information on Arvendon or Veluvius there. As soon as they walked in, a familiar aura worked at the counter. All eyes turned to Tycen as the woman turned around.

“Tycen,” Izzy said. “How great that you are here? Oh, hi everyone.” She quickly corrected. Her eyes then quickly focused on Anza. “Wait… is that?” Levi frowned in anticipation of the impending outburst. “I actually have no idea what that is…”

“Hi, Izzy,” Tycen said, breaking her from her thoughts. "It is good to see you again. Do you work here?”

Izzy smiled brightly at Tycen, “My family owns the library and the laboratory. Technically, we own the whole district. Sorry, that sounded very braggy.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Tycen chuckled, “no need to apologize. This is Anza, she’s one of Levi’s familiars.”

“She’s beautiful,” Izzy breathed out.

“Wait,” Levi said. “You aren’t freaked out?”

“Freaked out? Levi do you know about my family?”

“I think, Izzy, it is safe to say, I absolutely do not,” Levi said with a hint of sarcasm. Izzy gave him a flat look, but the corner of her mouth deceived her serious facial expression.

“We are researchers; that is our whole thing. We love inventing, researching, learning, anything of that nature.” Izzy’s excitement grew as she talked about her family. You have a creature that I don’t believe has been cataloged, and you asked if I am freaked out?”

“Well,” Levi said. “She has been cataloged, you just have never seen or heard of it.”

“She is a world-ending organism,” Anna said. Anza looked at Anna, and Anna turned and winked.

“That’s not true, Anna,” Levi said. “She’s a world-conquering or consuming entity not ending. Conquering.”

Izzy’s body was completely still as the two of them had a debate over semantics.

“Did we break her?” Levi asked. “Sorry Tycen, she’s broken.”

“Better not tell her about your other familiars,” Tycen said.

“Bummer they are all very excited to meet her. Also, good thing she is broken because I definitely just goofed on your name Silvy,” Levi said.

“Yes, yes you did.”

“Are you evil?” Izzy asked, finally returning to the present.

“No but I get that question a lot,” Levi said.

“That is something someone who is evil would say,” she countered.

Levi chuckled, “you’re not wrong there. Not evil though. Here.” Levi pulled out the book he used to summon Anza and handed it to Izzy.

“Summoning 101,” Izzy read the title out loud.

“Chapter 17,” Levi said.

“You’re a summoner?” Izzy asked, realizing what she just read.

“Yes,” Levi replied.

“What guild did you attend?”

“The Onyx kingdom.”

“They actually have a summoner’s guild there?” Izzy said, sounding hopeful.

“They do, that’s why I went there. What’s your class?”

“I don’t have one,” Izzy replied. “I wanted to be a ritualist, so attending a summoner’s guild would be the best bet for me to learn that, but we don’t have one here.”

“So you’re a 2-star with no class?” Levi asked. “How is that possible?”

“I am. I got training in the basics of all the attributes. My family is one of the founding houses, after all, which gives me certain advantages. This does change a lot. I should go attend the summoner’s guild in the Onyx kingdom.”

“Why ritualist?” Tycen asked. “Why not be a sorcerer who learns ritual magic?”

“They are not the same,” Anna said. “In fact the fields are very different. She was correct to want to be a summoner, as you cannot summon without rituals.”

“Exactly,” Izzy said. “As I said before, I love research, learning, and inventing. Ritual magic could help defenses, preservation, secrecy, and so much more. Imagine a rural town that has decent ritual formations that protect them from random monsters that would spawn and usually harm them.”

“That is a noble stance,” Tycen responded. “Does this massive city not have any summoners?”

“No, none, the last summoner disappeared many years ago. A summoner by the name of M. Veluvius,” Izzy said. “He had a student, his last student came from the former Arbor kingdom and studied here.”

“Veluvius was from here?” Levi said in disbelief. Izzy nodded.

“Oh yes,” she looked around. “In fact, come with me.” She led the team up to the fourth floor of the universe’s largest library. On the fourth floor, they went down several rows of books until they reached a section that had dust piled; clearly, no one had been in this section for a long time.

“We found this letter at his house,” Izzy said. “We were able to place some stabilizing runes on it; it kept trying to teleport away whenever it was opened. So it’s been in this glass case for a long, long time.”

“Should you be showing us this?” Anna asked.

“It’s public information,” Izzy said. “This is the library after all. I do have to get going; I have a meeting soon. You’re more than welcome to view anything in here.” Before she turned to leave, she stopped at Tycen, placing a hand on his shoulder. “It was good to see you, Tycen. I hope we can meet again.”

“Maybe we can grab dinner,” Tycen said. "We will be in town for a few more days before beginning our journey.” Izzy paused and pushed her hair behind her ears; a slight blush grew on her face.

“I’m free tonight,” Izzy said. “I’ll take you to my favorite spot in town. Where should I meet you?”

“I will meet you here then,” Tycen said.

“I am looking forward to it,” Izzy said. She gave a lingering smile, then waved goodbye, rushing down the hall.

“There’s the confident Tycen I know,” Levi said. “Attaboy.”

“Are you going to open the letter?” Tycen said, ignoring the joy that Levi was showing.

“Sure sure, Dear Izzy, you’re beautiful, and you- ouch,” Piper punched Levi on the arm. “Yeah, I deserved that.” Tycen gave Piper a high-five. It was so loud that some of the dust on the books was shaken off. Levi shook his head at that absurd thought. He walked up to the case, and the envelope reacted to his presence. It disappeared and then reappeared in Levi’s hands. He opened the letter. “Letter number one, finally!” Levi said. He read the letter out loud to everyone.

Letter #1

The tides are changing - summoners are being disrespected. No one is sending their young to our guilds anymore. Something about the difficulty of ranking up. Is that the way the world is moving? We care not for magic but for the power magic provides? Those seeking high star ranks don’t know that it’s not about attributes. Secrets to reach the pinnacle are there. I am here to write that there is such a rank as 6 stars. These secrets have yet to be discovered, but they are out there. Perhaps my legacy will be to be the arbiter of that change.

Yours truly,

M. Veluvius

“Well,” Anna said. “6-stars… that is a big revelation. Do you think he was right?”

“I have no idea,” Levi said. “He seemed pretty confident in it. It also was the first letter, I wonder if this was what caused him to start writing these letters?”

“One thing that I’m not clear on,” Piper said. “The timing between the letters.”

“How many do you have?” Tycen asked.

“This is my fifth of ten. I have sixth, third, ninth, ten, and now first,” Levi said. “I have no diea what the distance is between this letter and the last letter. Somewhere in between his apprentice turned evil or was always evil and turned on him. The strangest part of all of this is his death. When I was in Arvendon after I was taken, I speaked to some creepy kid ghosts. They told me that Veluvius was dead.”

“Do you think they lied?” Anna asked.

“I don’t think they did, but I don’t think he is dead,” Levi said.

“But didn’t the last letter said he had to sacrifice himself to perform the ritual?” Piper said.

“It did,” Levi said. “I’ve done summoning rituals before, not once have I ever had to be in a ritual circle. Nor has any book or lessons I learned ever say anything about using yourself as an ingredient in a ritual.”

“What are you saying happened then?” Anna asked.

“My best guess and this is a massive guess,” Levi sighed. “It was some ritual to reach the sixth star. Some evolution or something. I don’t know but he talked about needing more than attributes, using yourself as an ingredient would constitute that as more than attributes.”

“That is a rather large speculation,” Anna said.

“I agree,” Levi said. “I have no idea, my brain is firing a million miles an hour thinking of so many scenarios. But coming back to Piper’s question, my guess would be at least 100 years.”

“Well when was the war between the Arbors and the Onyx?”

“About 75 years ago,” Anna said.

“That is not that long ago,” Levi frowned.

“It is not,” Anna said. "It was a short war, and the Arbors gave up relatively quickly. They were not good rulers, and they let things fall into chaos and disarray. The people didn’t fight, and the guards didn’t protect them. The Arbors gave up quickly.”

“So what happened to all of them?”

“They fled and lived their days out as peasants, at least that is the story I was told.”

“I see, maybe not,” Levi said.

“Probably not,” Anna said. “I was a child during these stories, I am sure my father would tell me differently now as an adult.”

Levi nodded, “Anything back here about Veluvius? I feel like this isn’t all the things we can find on him. Let’s search this section and see if we can find anything.”

“Hello, Levi Winters,” a familiar chorus of creepiness spoke from the corner of the dark room.