In a flash, I was back to Rico’s Place, as I called my little home away from home. Spinning around, I expected to find Minerva, but it looked like she was gone. Do the advisors get to go on breaks? How many summoned beings was she advising at one time? They were more questions I would have to pester Minerva with when she returned.

“What a rip-off,” I said as I looked at the gauge that was supposed to signal when I could return home. It was sitting at just under full, like 98% of the way there. Now, I’d have to wait for another summons before I could head home.

Minerva had mentioned that I would stay home longer this time, which might make finding a real job a bit easier. Just thinking about things back home made me feel sick inside. I didn’t have much of a savings, maybe enough for a month or two of rent. After that, I had no idea. While the insurance company wasn’t anywhere close to my dream job, it didn’t pay too badly.

First thing when I got home, I’d start applying for anything I could. Even working in a fast-food place was an option at this point. Those places usually had a hard time attracting workers, so they might cut me some slack for weird behavior. If a headache was coming on or getting worse, I could run for the bathroom and lock myself in a stall until everything was over.

The whole coming back naked thing was still a challenge that I had to overcome, but if I was in a bathroom stall, it might look less noticeable. Sure, those stalls usually had far larger gaps than were necessary and let you see the person sitting inside, but nobody but a weirdo would actively look at someone taking a dump in the stall. The dangerous part was if my clothes just flopped on the ground, someone might swipe them or grab my wallet.

Thinking about money, jobs, and appearing naked after summoning wasn’t doing me any good. While there were only two things in the room at present, one of those was Rico’s Rewards. It was time to see if this last summoning had given me any sweet, sweet loot.

Rico’s Loot Contents.

1. Copper coins, 37.

2. Silver coins, 7.

Cool, more silver coins. Those were worth something, unlike the copper ones that comprised the bulk of my rewards. There wasn’t any weapon or other item in the chest, but from what Minerva had said, it’s sort of rare occurrence when that happens. I would also be able to take the money with me when I returned home. I’d probably leave the copper coins here, but I could get some cash for the silver ones. The pawn shop would rip me off on them, but they also wouldn’t ask too many questions about how I acquired them.

“I see you’ve returned again,” Minerva said, once again surprising me from behind.

“Bah, why do you keep doing that?” I said, dropping the silver coins that I had been holding.

“I merely arrived to advise you further. I am neither responsible for your clumsy behavior nor am I responsible for your fearful demeanor,” Minerva argued.

“Fine, why don’t I ask you about…” I started before she interrupted me.

“Our last conversation has not been completed. I was advising you about the weapon that you acquired as a reward. As I mentioned before, reward items are rare, though a simple reward, such as the one you received, is common in the early ranks,” she said.

“Do I have to be wearing it when I step into the portal?” I asked.

“Yes, until you unlock your armory, you must manually equip yourself with whatever you have inside your Rico’s Loot. I would also advise that you not take this weapon back home with you. You would be better served to leave it here in Rico’s loot so you can use it on future summonings,” Minerva explained.

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“So, the first thing I should do when I arrive back here again is grab the knife and tie it to my belt?” I asked.

“That would be advisable if you do not wish to enter a potential fight unarmed,” she confirmed.

“Okay, what about the different types of summoning tasks that I keep getting. That last one was just carrying packages. Who decides where I go?” I asked. The whole concept of a random intelligence dispensing summoned beings to fill requests was just strange.

“Much of that I cannot go into at this point. You should know that your current rank and tier determines the types of summoning’s that you qualify for. As you progress higher in the ranks, you will unlock new summoning types, none of which I am allowed to discuss with you at this juncture.”

“Oh, what about my place, it’s kind of bare. Can I get a sofa or a TV? Standing around waiting for my next summoning inside an almost empty room is kind of depressing,” I asked.

“Purchasing items for Rico’s Place is possible, but not until you reach a higher rank. “For now, that is all I can tell you,” Minerva replied.

“Okay, so there’s like a summoned being Ikea that I get to shop at. Do I spend my coins, or is this something to do with those summoning points I’ve started getting? Wait, do I have to put the furniture together myself, or is it already assembled?” I asked.

“I cannot discuss this topic further at this time. Do you require any additional assistance?” Minerva asked. Her voice was starting to take on the annoyed tone which told me that while I might not be done asking questions, she was about done answering them for me.

“Thanks, I guess. One more question for now. My next summoning should fill up the return gauge, what’s the process after that? Do I return here first, or is it back to that weird void place?” I asked.

“You will be returned here and given a short time to collect your rewards and prepare anything you might wish before your next session,” Minerva replied.

“Thanks, just out of curiosity, where were you when I returned? Do you have other summoned beings that you’re responsible for?” I asked, trying to sneak in an extra question. I had the feeling that there were more important things to ask, but my mind always ran in what seemed like a million different directions when I was nervous, making it hard to focus.

“My responsibilities are myriad, and I do not desire to discuss them with you, though I can confirm that part of my duties includes advising several other summoned beings. Now, my other duties call, and I must leave. If I don’t see you before your next summoning, good luck to you,” she said before disappearing.

There was no flash of light when Minerva left, no puff of smoke, no sound, she just wasn’t there anymore. Why did I have to do the whole blue portal thing when she could teleport who knew where when she wanted to? It was no use whining about my predicament. That was something I had always been good at, not the whining part, but accepting my current situation.

For better or worse, I was now a summoned being. It was strange, horrifying, and if I was honest with myself, kind of cool. Being summoned to do various things was now something I had to do. That didn’t mean I had to hate it, and it also didn’t mean that I wouldn’t look for a way out. If not a way out, at least some way to make the whole process a bit less crazy.

For now, I had my place back home and one here in summoning land. I had my loot chest, and a small nest egg inside it. I also had my new dagger that I couldn’t wait to try out. There was no way I could take out an orc with one, at least not yet, but a goblin or another of those spiders, easy-peasy.

Maybe when I gained my next rank I would unlock some cool ability, like in a game. If that wasn’t the case, I’d have to find some way to train myself to get better. Just from my pathetic tier zero, rank zero rewards, I could see a big difference between a bad performance and getting something done during my summoning.

When I got home, I’d have to look into some kind of martial arts or maybe fencing or something like that. I’d also have to start doing a better job at working out. I needed strength and flexibility to deal with the stuff I was facing. Maybe there was some kind of medieval weapons expert that could help me out?

All that training was going to cost some serious cash and for the time being, it’d just be me and my dagger. I could probably find some YouTube videos or something to help, but I’d need to take the initiative to try to better myself. At least here, you were summoned to do a job and then it was over a short time later. Sure, you might die a horrible death, but at least there was no Barbara harping on how many claims I’d closed for the week.

Maybe Minerva was going to be my new Barbara. No, as monotone and robotic as Minerva was, I didn’t get the feeling that she was trying to throw me under the bus. Barbara was always looking for ways to get the employees she didn’t like to resign. I didn’t have to worry about that, but I did have to do one more thing before I could go home for a while. I had one more summoning to complete. The portal on the wall opened once more.

You are Summoned!