“I felt that I just needed to put my mana into sand nearest to me,” Levi responded.

“Interesting.”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“Not at all, you have your own unique style of summoning. Keep developing that. The connection you had with the summoned elemental was almost… familiar?”

“It felt similar to when I summoned Anza but not as a deep because it wasn’t a familiar summoning ritual,” Levi responded.

“How’s your mana?”

“I lost only a quarter of mana doing that, I’m good for another.”

“Good, you are clearly advanced let’s try to mix sugar and cinnamon,” Professor Egret.

“Are we baking?”

“Cute,” she said in a tone that indicated that it definitely was not cute. “I won’t tell you what you get. It depends on how you make the summoning circle. One way is dangerous, one way is peaceful. Good luck.”

Levi looked at the professor with total horror. She smiled smugly and took a step back. Levi had no idea what the right path to take was. He looked at Anza, and she told him she had no idea. Unsure, Levi took a deep breath and put the sugar in the hexagon lines and the cinnamon in the circle. He put an equal amount of both in the center circle. Levi stepped out of the summoning circle and placed his hand gently on the cinnamon. The cinnamon started to glow first; it was a gentle amber brown. The cinnamon in the center ritual circle started to glow, and the sugar did as well. The sugar began glowing white.

The summoning materials inside the rune circle began to glow and lift, just as the sand did. They formed a more complicated-looking rune. Levi instinctively felt danger. Behind his back, he started to conjure an orb of chaos. The rune started to glow, and a creature began to form inside the light. Not creature, creatures. Small little creatures surrounded Levi. Levi couldn’t figure out what it was. The creatures were all small, as long as toothpicks, and wide as a stick of butter. They were powdered sugar white, speckled with some cinnamon brown. They floated harmlessly around each other.

Levi looked at them and that feeling of danger was still deeply present in Levi. There were about 50 of them in total. They started to swirl around each other; light started to form at the top of the swirl. Before it could fire, Levi held out his orb of chaos and sent it toward the light at the top. The orb collided with the light, and the creatures stopped. A bright light started to form, and the small creatures combined to form a larger version of it. Levi now got a good look at the creature. It was a skull made of powdered sugar; it was about the size of a basketball. The eye sockets were brown and there was a white haze that formed the eyeball.

“Were you just a bunch of little skulls before?” Levi asked.

“Are you a practitioner of Chaos magic?” the skull asked.

“You speak?” Levi said.

“Only in this form, when many become one. Now, answer my question,” a dark brown light started to emit from the skull.

“I have one chaos spell that I can use,” Levi said. “I wouldn’t say that I’m a practitioner.” The skull looked at Levi with an assessing gaze. It was measuring Levi, seeing if this being that summoned it was powerful or an idiot. It was not used to being summoned into a realm as strange as this one. The magical nutrients of this world were lacking, there were undercurrents of war between peace and chaos; and peace was winning. The creature before it was a tall lengthy man. The man didn’t look afraid for how weak its aura was. It looked calm, especially when the skull’s smaller forms started to attack.

“I am Calekton Skeletors, but you may call me Cal,” Cal said.

“Nice to meet you Cal,” Levi said. “What are you?”

“I am an echo entity, I am many and one all at the same time,” Cal said.

“An echo entity,” Levi said. “That is awesome. What realm are you from?”

“I am from the desolate cosmos. A place where all-consuming entities, like me, reside.”

“The desolate cosmos, now that is an awesome name. So, you’re an all-consuming entity? Is there another name for that?”

“We have been called many names, in many different realms. Apocalypse beast, Arbiters of Finality, Agents of Omega, and All-Consuming Entities. How is it that you can control chaos?”

“I don’t,” Levi said. The skull stared at him blankly, emotionless but Levi could feel the curiosity. “It’s a partnership, we have a deal between us.”

“Making pacts with chaos is dangerous.”

“I believe you,” Levi responded, chuckling, “But that’s why I said deal, it can be broken at any time without any hard feelings. We’ll just figure something else out.”

“You are an interesting being,” Cal said.

“Appreciate it,” Levi said. Professor Egret cleared her throat. “I guess that’s my cue, nice to meet ya Cal. I’ll hope to meet you again.”

“I have belief,” Cal replied. “We shall.” The skull broke into those fifty pieces it had started as, and the bright light from the rune began to light again. The small white orbs flew into the rune, all but one. It turned around and hovered around Levi. Levi held out a hand with his palm facing up. The small echo hovered there until the ritual circle closed. The echo entity turned into a solid piece of sugar, the size of a baseball, with the same rune as the ritual glowing on an edge.

Item: Summoning Token - Echo Entity

An item that can be used in a summoning ritual to summon the specific being or creature that provided this token. The token will be consumed on use.

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“Whoa,” Levi said. Holding the sugar in one hand, turning it over.

“Yet again, Mr. Winters,” Professor Egret’s face was full of delight. “That was a strange summoning. At first, I thought you chose incorrectly, that was the one of danger, as I am sure you surmised. Yet, I get this sneaky suspicion that you preferred the dangerous one.”

“I honestly have no idea,” Levi said. “I just picked one and wanted to see what would happen.”

“Mr. Winters are you aware that you had a conversation with an extremely dangerous being?”

“I gathered he was strong, his aura was crazy, and he judged mine, which was uncalled for.”

“I have so many questions, but you must be very tired,” Professor Egret said.

“I am,” Levi said. “I feel a small headache and I’m gassed.”

“Your mana must be nearly empty,” the professor said. “What is it at?”

“15% left,” Levi reported wincing. He pulled out a water skin and had Anza fill it up. He took slower, more methodical sips. He sat on the ground, as the adrenaline with meeting Cal finally began to wear off.

“I am impressed, Levi. You showed remarkable skill. It appears you have a natural ability for ritual magic; that is great. I do not need to teach you how to do it, just understanding it from a knowledge perspective. You may use this room as much as you please.” Professor Egret continued to give Levi an assessment on what he did, doing her best not to ask too many questions. She noted how impressed she was that he was able to activate the ritual circle without an incantation, how he placed the materials in the rune circle and that had an added effect. Professor Egret stated that she had never seen anyone do that before or that it could even produce such results.

“You must have gained a lot of levels today,” Professor Egret said. The pair plus Anza were walking to the cafeteria to grab some food. “Food will help you recover along with the water you are consuming.” The professor let him examine his notifications on the walk toward the cafeteria and even while they were eating.

Progress Made:

Strength has gained 15 points.

Strength is now 41.

Stamina has gained 8 points.

Stamina is now 30.

Speed has gained 6 points.

Speed is now at 28.

Vitality has gained 4 points.

Vitality is now 54.

Wisdom has gained 25 points.

Wisdom is now at 125.

Attributes Total: 278

Strength 41

Stamina 30

Speed 28

Vitality 54

Wisdom 125

“When do you get your next familiar?” Professor Egret asked. “I assume, 2-star?”

“Yep,” Levi said in between bites of food. He had gotten three plates of food. Rice with some very well-seasoned grilled chicken. That was one plate; he got a plate of veggies, and the last plate was full of desserts. Levi wasn’t sure how much exactly, but he knew that he was burning more calories than he was consuming. That had to change, he wanted to give his muscles more rest and protein to allow growth.

“We are done with lessons for the day, Mr. Winters. You learned from Professor Burtrum how to use mana to recover. Use similar techniques but focus on your mana pool. This type of meditation will allow you to recover your mana at a much quicker rate than standard recovery and in the beginning, minimally compared to eating mana-rich food. Tomorrow, you have a day off, and I suggest you use it to train. You may be adept at summoning, but you still have a long way to go.”

“Should I practice more summoning?” Levi asked. “Wait, I guess that’s a dumb question of course I should. I’m so close to 2-star, I can feel it. Then, I can try new higher ranked stuff.”

“I admire your ambition, but Levi, you have only been using magic for a few days now. Take everything in stride. Do not push yourself too hard.” Levi gave a pointed look. “What I mean is that if you are tired when you wake up, rest. Resting is a vital part of this process, and if you refuse to rest and only work, you’ll be burnt out. Unable to attack as sharply as you did today.”

“That’s a good point, alright, you win.” Levi conceded. Professor Egret had made some rather good points... Levi was excited for the first time in who knows how long the man felt like he had a purpose, he had something to strive for. It wasn’t something that would come easy, although rituals did come easy enough. I think Professor Egret anticipated the summoning to be a lot harder than what it was. Levi thought about that. Why had it been so easy? Levi had said goodbye to his professor and made his way to his room. He was expecting the girls to come over soon, he would explain why he had eaten already.

For the first time all-day Anza and Levi were alone. She lay down next to Levi on the couch. She put her eagle head on his lap, and he gave her slow, comforting pets. Anza enjoyed this moment it was a nice time to feel connected to her summoner. She could tell that Levi was thinking about something. Perhaps it was the same question that he had been asking since leaving the professor.

You have a ritualist ability, Anza thought to Levi. That should give you an advantage in ritual magic.

Yeah, I guess, Levi thought. I never considered that to be such a powerful ability, though. It didn’t seem like it was when I first got it.

I am young and have not met many summoners. However, I know that the few that I have met do not have such an ability. They had to say an incantation with every ritual. This was great because it often could tell what was in the rune that was being summoned based on what said. The way I do it is so random.

Not as random as you would think, Levi. I chose you; Cal chose you, whatever you called the sand elemental chose you. There was something in your aura that was attractive for us to want to explore. That is why Cal gave you the easiest way to have him become a familiar.

You don’t mind, do you? Levi asked.

No of course not, Anza said. The more, the merrier. The stronger you get, the harder it is for you to die. The longer I get to be your familiar. Wins all around. I also don’t think he’ll ever be able to be pet like me, so that’s not getting taken away.

I’m always here to provide scratches. Levi responded. Hey, I got a question, how do you rank up?

I rank up when you rank up. Familiars just grow as their summoner grows. It has to do with the bond that we have established. That is why if you see a higher ranker with a familiar, they usually have a bond and at that point an ability that link the two near permanently.

Good to know, Levi said. We’ll you’re almost 2-stars. Do you get any upgrades? Also, gotta find a new way to say when you’re inside me, I don’t like it.

Yes, I will get some new powers. I will not know what they are until we reach a consensus. I do not like it either, absorb or fused would work better. Anza responded.

Ooo fused is so much better. We fuse together, you are fusing to me with that bright white light. Levi tried different combinations until he felt he found the perfect combination.

There was a knock on the door and Levi called for them to enter. Piper walked in first wearing the same combat robes as before. Levi’s heart skipped a beat seeing her walk through the doors. She had two plates full of food. Anna walked in right after her carrying two more plates of food. They, like Levi, must have had a labor-intensive day and ended up refueling with all the food to recover. Levi joined the ladies at the table.

“So how was your day?”