I was transported back to my personal space in a flash, and I couldn’t resist making sure there wasn’t a huge axe wound in my chest. Just like always, I was fine, but sometimes, my mind just wouldn’t accept it. I knew the system suppressed some of the trauma, but I guess it let though a bit to remind me that I was still human.
Shaking off the last summoning, I headed to the reward chest to see what I received. This time, I sorted by the new items, then pulled up a total to look at.
Rico’s Loot.
New Inventory.
1. Copper coins, 67.
2. Silver coins, 17.
3. Small gems, 2.
Total Inventory.
1. Copper coins, 2,204.
2. Silver coins, 215.
3. Gold coins, 11.
4. Small gems, 14.
5. High-quality gems, 4.
6. Fine gems, 1.
While the last summoning didn’t exactly net me a fortune, I was glad to see the totals were getting up there to a respectable number. One thing I’d held off on spending were the gems. I had no idea how to put a price on them and had always worried that I was getting ripped off. Maybe it would be good to bring those back home. The people at Refuge should be able to get me a fair price and take their cut at the same time.
Even more important than the cash rewards was the message I’d received at the end of my last summoning. I had unlocked something from my class. Normally, I’d get something every five ranks or so, but if the system wanted to start doling out rewards every few ranks, I’d be more than happy with it. The frequency of class upgrades and options would be something I needed to research in the Reforged database. Of course, my class was supposed to be a bit unique, so it might not parallel others that closely.
New Class Ability: Lend Skills and Abilities.
This class ability allows you to share one of your existing skills and abilities with a single summoned minion. You must select the skill and who it will be shared with in your loadout. Only one skill or ability may be shared at any time. While this skill is shared, you will not be able to personally utilize it.
Interesting, and the new skill made me wonder if there might be a class ability down the road that would share skills in the other direction. Who wouldn’t want their melee attacks to inflict paralysis like a ghoul’s attacks could. I’d been a while since I had checked out my complete status, and since the next summoning hadn’t arrived, I figured it was a good time for a review.
Rico Kline, Foe Summoner.
Tier 1, Rank 3.
Experience/experience needed for next rank: 2/25.
Summoning points: 33.
Gear Score, 146/165.
Stats:
Strength, 12.
Agility, 11.
Constitution, 11.
Mind, 18.
Presence, 7.
Current Mana, 37/90.
Reserved mana, 53.
Mana core upgrades:
1. Rift travel containment field.
2. Core Shielding, Stage 1. (5 mana).
Skills and Abilities:
1. Basic bludgeoning weapons skill.
2. Basic Unarmed Combat.
3. Light armor proficiency. Reduces the gear cost of all light armor by 5.
4. Lockpick/Disarm Device.
5. Linguistic adaptation interface.
6. Riposte.
7. Consumable planner.
8. Lend Skills.
9. Open.
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Resistances:
1. Curse of Undeath, minor.
Spell Book:
Cantrips.
1. Psionic Jolt. Mana cost 2. Gear cost 5.
2. Redirect. Mana cost 2. Gear cost 5.
Tier 0 spells:
1. Fail Weapons. Mana cost 4. Gear cost 10.
2. Empower Minion. Mana cost 4, gear cost 10.
Tier 1 spells:
1. Duplicate, mana cost 10, gear cost 20.
It looked like my new class ability took up one of the few open slots I had for skills and abilities. There was only one open slot remaining, but I would get another when I reached rank five. There was always the possibility of finding another of those scrolls that added a slot, and Minerva had said it was common to get at least one as a reward at some point in between each tier.
“Melvin, I’m going to need the training center for a bit, sorry to cut off your fun,” I said to my friend as he slithered out from the training center. He sent feelings over our link that where the gelatinous cube equivalent of “no problem”.
To start things off, I summoned Rupert and lent him a skill that I didn’t use all that much, Riposte. I summoned one of the weakest creatures on the figurine display, something called a Sickly Goblin. It was accurately described, and the goblin appeared with a sharpened stick to use as a spear, as well as a bad case of the sniffles.
I had the goblin disarm itself and begin attacking Rupert. Its hits barely did any damage, and after four or five strikes, the goblin had a hacking fit as his illness got the better of him. Rupert took the limited damage like a champ, and after a dozen hits, Riposte activated, and he punched the goblin right in the runny nose. The goblin let out a squawk and stumbled back.
The tests continued and the goblin was eventually defeated by Rupert just triggering Riposte. My only problem with using the skill myself was the fact that I had to use it in melee combat. Now, I could give it one of my minions to use, and I’d get much more mileage out of it. The question became which minion did I bestow the skill upon.
I’d have to rethink my lineup, and before I made any decisions, I tried out the skill on all my various minion options. So far, Riposte seemed like the best candidate to share with minions out of all my skills and abilities. Other than basic skills in weapons and armor, everything else was class related. If this worked out well, it’d help to shape the types of skills and abilities I was willing to purchase. So far, I’d been leaning away from the melee combat oriented ones in favor of stuff that synergized with my class.
My various minions went through the training center, each testing out how well Riposte worked against different opponents. In the end, the best fit for the ability seemed to be the ghoul, with Marvin Glum in close second. Everything else wasn’t quite durable enough and would likely die before the ability had a chance to trigger.
I needed to shuffle my lineup again, bringing the ghoul back into the party. In addition to the ghoul, I added Lillia Farwind and Rupert. After the discount for my Presence stat, I was using up 73/90. It was a good mix of troops and at rank four, I’d get another point in my mind stat which would let me add my hound back into the loadout without feeling too pressed for mana. Riposte was linked to the ghoul, who would get the most out of it.
A quick check of the return gauge showed that I had only filled in about 15% so far. I’d have several more summonings before I would be able to head home. With my lineup ready to go, I jumped into the armory. I equipped just about everything I could, even adding my old mace so I could give it to Rupert when I summoned him. I had the system itemize my gear, and with my new rank, the maximum gear score had increased to 165.
Current Loadout.
Gear Score: 150/165.
Armor and Weapons:
1. Gnomish Warhammer of Undead Slaying. Gear cost, 50.
2. Magic Missile Wand. Gear cost, 10.
3. Studded Leather Armor. Gear cost, 25(20).
4. Simple Mace. Gear cost 10.
Miscellaneous Gear:
1. Headband of the Apprentice Summoner. Gear cost 10.
2. Fitzfazzle Figurine (inactive).
3. Everburn torch.
4. Pack of holding.
5. Linked belt.
Spells:
Cantrips.
1. Psionic Jolt. Mana cost 2. Gear cost 5.
Teir 0 spells.
1. Fail Weapons. Man cost 4. Gear cost 10.
2. Empower Minion. Mana cost 4. Gear cost 10.
Tier 1 spells.
1. Duplicate. Mana cost 10. Gear cost 20.
Consumables:
1. Notice of Cessation. Gear cost 5 (4).
2. Ring of Duplicate, 2 charges. Gear cost, 2 (1).
3. Potion of Mirror Image.
4. Elixir of Life.
5. Salve of the Flame Mage.
6. Minor healing potions (3). Gear cost 0.
7. Minor mana potions (3). Gear cost 0.
I was happy with my loadout, but I really missed having the extra consumable figurines. The ones I did have, I was going to save for when I returned home. As it stood, I’d used up everything to escape the cultists. That’s what they were for, to save me in a tight spot, so I didn’t begrudge their use.
After sorting things out with my lineup and loadout, I got in a few more training sessions. After I was confident in my picks for the team, I let Melvin know that the training center was all his. I’d dropped the mana in there down to about fifteen percent, but it should regenerate in a short time and my cube buddy could get back to work. A new system prompt appeared at almost the exact instant I sat in my rocking chair.
You are Summoned!