All three options weren’t bad, though Minor Counterspell was very situational and wouldn’t likely help much back home. My choice was between the armor spell and the healing one. For most summonings, the armor spell would likely be the better pick. I could armor up my most powerful minion and send him into the fight. The downside was that it was a single target spell, and my mana pool wouldn’t support continuous castings of it.

Despite the positives of the armor spell, I was leaning toward the healing spell being the better pick. It would prove effective during a summoning and might save lives back home. With my newest minion, the veteran orc, I could see the spell getting a lot of use. He wasn’t going to be easy to take down and healing him up during a fight would make him even more effective. I’d also get the chance to heal allies during a battle, which might really boost my rating at the end of a summoning.

You have gained the spell Health Bloom.

With my new spell learned and my summoning points tapped out, it was time to head back into the city. My next stop was at the apothecary. I had a few things to stock up on. I purchased another forty mana tabs to take home. When someone at Refuge visited Somhagen, it was requested they bring back a resupply for the group.

Jeanette burned mana to keep up the food buffs and protections that her Homesteader class offered. Her class was also summoned very infrequently, as it was a rather specialized one. While I wanted to help out Jeanette and Refuge, I also wanted plenty of mana tabs on hand if I ran into an emergency back home.

There were supposedly more powerful versions of the tabs available at the higher tiers of the city, but the price increase was substantial. On Earth, the mana tabs I used would regenerate anywhere from 10 to 18 or so mana. With the diminishing return on the tabs, a second one taken before twelve hours had gone by would only restore 5 or 6 mana. Any more than two and you would not only get zero mana, but you would also cause severe damage to your body.

I also restocked my mana and healing potions. They were minor ones that weren’t very powerful, but just like with the mana tabs, more powerful versions were available at the higher tiers of the city. Since they were cheap and didn’t have a gear cost associated with them, I grabbed enough to bring my stock up to five each. With a more powerful minion, I’d have to experiment with giving one to the orc veteran Grulnok to keep on hand during a longer summoning.

After the apothecary, I took a break to get something to eat. I didn’t want to spend a long time in a restaurant, so I returned to the area near the entrance gate where several of the smaller carts and food stalls were found. I didn’t think that Somhagen had anything like a department of public health and safety, but everything looked clean and sanitary, which contrasted with the almost medieval vibe of the city.

I waved at and greeted Tonpu and his wife, but I wasn’t in the mood for a corn dog. One cart with a wide, flat grill caught my eye and my appetite. The wonderful scent of grilled meat, peppers, and onions hit me as the worker at the cart moved the food around the grill with a pair of what looked like giant chopsticks. When he topped everything with diced garlic and some kind of dark sauce, I was sold.

“What do you call that, and how much is it for a bowl?” I asked.

“Good evening to you, sir. This is called the Taikar raider bowl. It’s named after a nomadic warrior people from a faraway land that were rumored to have cooked their food using a similar method. For one silver, you can get a portion large and tasty enough to satisfy a Taikar prince,” the man said.

I handed over my money and was a bit surprised to find the thinly sliced meat and veggies he had grilled were served over some rather familiar looking noodles. It was a bit awkward to eat with the wooden spoon he gave as an eating utensil. I would have preferred a fork, or even a pair of chopsticks, despite how horrible I was at using them. Still, the spoon served well enough to help me scoop food into my face.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

With just the right amount of salty goodness, the savory dish was scarfed down in record time. Passing the empty bowl and spoon back to the clerk, I was ready to continue my shopping adventures. Next on the list of stops was a visit to Contracted Summonings. I had a bonus to collect, and I wanted to see if I could get some new contracts. The mouse-looking guy, Pakrinas, had done right by me and I was looking forward to doing more business with him.

It wasn’t too hard to find the shop, and I was starting to get the hang of this tier of the city. This would be my last visit, since I’d move up to tier two by the time I was allowed in again. The building where Contracted Summonings was located was right next to the arena, and I’d have to check out the gift shop again afterward to see if the same person was working there today. I didn’t mind generously tipping the worker if he pointed me toward another good find.

“Good evening, sir, how may I assist you?” the young woman that worked at the front desk of Contracted Summonings asked as I walked in.

“Hi, I’m here to collect a bonus and see if we could work out a deal on some new contracts. I worked with Pakrinas last time,” I offered.

“That’s great, Mr. Pakrinas is in his office, I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to see you,” the woman said, waving me back toward the same office I had been in before. Pakrinas was stacking scrolls on his desk and looked like he might be packing up for the night.

“Sir, this gentleman is here to see you about a bonus as well as some additional work,” the woman said before leaving to return to her post at the front of the shop.

“Wait, don’t tell me. I never forget a client. Uh, let’s see, you’re Rocko, Vigo, no, it’s Rico, yeah, that’s it, Rico. You did a starter contract with the dungeon core if I remember correctly. Received a very good recommendation from the core on that one, good work, Rico,” Pakrinas said, sorting through a drawer in his desk where he pulled out a scroll and small pouch of coins that he passed over to me. A quick check revealed the pouch held seventeen silver coins, just as promised.

“Thanks, do you have any additional work for me?” I asked.

“Given your past performance, absolutely. Now refresh my memory, what type of class do you have again?” Pakrinas asked.

“I’m called a Foe Summoner, and it’s a summoner class as you might have guessed from the title,” I advised.

“Hmm, that’s good, I have a few things that might work. Tell me, how long can you maintain your summoned creatures for? I have a contract that could use some extra numbers, but they need them to stick around for more than a few minutes at a time,” Pakrinas said.

“I have a limited number of minions that I can summon, but I can keep them around indefinitely. If one of my summoned creatures is destroyed, there is some delay before I can bring them back again,” I told Pakrinas. From my prior experience, it appeared that the higher the tier and rank of the minion, the longer it took for their figurine to reform.

“Perfect, let me find the contract. Normally I wouldn’t offer an extended contract like this to someone who’s only completed a single trial contract, but this is a bit of a unique situation that I believe fits your class perfectly,” Pakrinas said as he dug through various piles of scrolls.

“How long are we talking with an extended summoning?” I asked. It didn’t matter too much to me, I was fine with a longer summoning, but I would like to have a heads up on how long I could expect.

“Like I said, this one is a bit unique. It’s a new client for the company, so I wanted to find the perfect fit. I suspect it’ll be anywhere from a few days to few weeks in duration. Tell me Rico, have you ever served in the military or in a law enforcement role? Pakrinas asked as he finally found the correct contract scroll.

“No, I can’t say that I have,” I answered, a bit concerned over exactly what type of summoning this was supposed to be.

“That’s fine, the client is a retired military leader and they are requesting someone like you to augment the security of the village he’s been assigned to oversee. I figured if you had worked in either of those fields, you might hit it off better with this client, but I’m sure you’ll do just fine,” Pakrinas told me.

“What are the details of the summoning?” I asked. Pakrinas pushed the scroll over to me and a system prompt filled in the details.

You have been offered the following summoning contract by Contracted Summonings.

1. Assignment to perform extended security services for the protection of the village of Veterhaven. There is a high chance of combat associated with this summoning, and you will have greater autonomy to carry out your duties.

2. Your compensation for this summoning is 1 gold coin of standard weight in addition to any normal rewards you acquire through the system. This contract is for a single, extended summoning and will bind neither yourself nor Contracted Summonings to further summoning options unless both parties agree.

“That’s not a lot of detail,” I said warily.

“True, but it’s a rather open-ended type of contract. You can’t expect them to detail every action you’ll take for weeks on end. Many summoned beings would see this as a dream assignment. You’ll have the freedom to act as you see fit. What do you say, Rico, are you up for the challenge?” Pakrinas asked.