I returned to my personal space concerned and still wondering how the villagers had fared in the battle. There were no illusions that my performance had magically allowed Saul and the others to survive, but I hoped that I had done enough to help delay the enemy. With the time I gained them, Saul and the others had hopefully prepared their final stand to be a costly one for the reavers.
It was one of the things that was frustrating about my life as a summoned being, I didn’t have the luxury of knowing what happened once I was gone. The only thing I had to go on was my performance rating, which indicated that I’d done at least some good for the village. Not only had I probably done some good, but I should also have been well rewarded for it.
“Melvin, how did things go for you in the battle?” I asked as my companion appeared next to me.
He had been placed in one of the pit traps to slow down the enemy’s advance. Melvin sent me some images through our link. I could see him in the trap, feeling bored and tired of waiting. After a while, the sounds of the attack were heard and several reavers fell into the pit. Most were impaled on the spikes, and Melvin made short work of any that survived the fall.
After dispatching the initial victims, the reavers avoided the large open pit, causing Melvin to climb his way out and look for other victims. Even though he had grown since I’d first met him, Melvin was still small enough to hide among the remaining plants in the field as he stalked new targets. His first was a reaver that happened to step right on top of him. Melvin spread out over the enemy and began to dissolve him.
The reaver called his allies for help, but they appeared to be trained to ignore the wounded and try to close with the enemy. Melvin used this method to deal with five other reavers before the entire force stopped while the duel was proceeding. It was then that someone spotted him and recognized the threat. Not long after, he was assaulted with several torch bearing enemies, and fell to their attacks, but not before seriously wounding several of his attackers.
“You did well, Melvin. Thank you for all the help,” I told him. Beaming with pride, Melvin moved into the training center to begin practicing. He could have his fun for now, but I may want to kick him out at some point as I needed to tweak my lineup. I had gained another point in Mind, which gave me another five mana to work with, and hitting rank six would also add five points to my gear score.
Before I delved into tweaking my lineup and gear loadout, I wanted to see what I’d gained from the summoning contract. Sorting for new loot only, I opened the reward chest.
Reward Chest.
New Inventory.
1. Copper coins, 1,271.
2. Silver coins, 311.
3. Gold coins, 12.
4. Small gems, 6.
5. High-quality gems, 2.
6. Gladius.
7. Lorica Hamata.
8. Pilum.
9. Summoning Figurine (5).
10. Foe Summoner template.
11. Skill scroll.
12. Arena upgrade certificate, 3.
13. Ring.
It was a nice haul, plenty of coins and gems to help out back home, while still having a nice chunk to prepare for my next trip to Somhagen. In addition, I’d gotten a lot of gear and other goodies. Some of the items were oddly named and I had no idea what they were, so I started with the strange stuff. I was vaguely aware that a Gladius was a sword of some type, So I pulled it from the chest first.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
A shortsword with a bronze hilt and a matching scabbard appeared in my hands. Pulling the blade, it slid from the sheath with a hiss, and I could tell that not only was the blade incredibly sharp, but it seemed to give off the faint glow of mana. A system prompt confirmed my suspicions.
The Commander’s Gladius. Part of the Commander’s Regalia set, this shortsword is infused with minor enchantments to aid in the command of troops in battle. When equipped, this weapon adds 1 point to the strength and constitution of all troops under your command. Troops must be within line of sight of the wielder for the effect to activate. The gear cost for this weapon is 50. For each additional piece of the Commander’s Regalia that is equipped, the gear cost for this weapon is reduced by 10.
It was a great item, and even though I wasn’t skilled in wielding a sword, it might be worth it to equip it over the warhammer just for the buff to my minions. After giving it a few practice stabs and swings, I returned the sword to the chest and pulled the next item, the Lorica Hamata.
I had no idea what a Lorica Hamata was, but apparently, it was a chainmail shirt. Just as with the sword, the armor gave off a slight glow of mana, and after holding it for a moment, I was given more details by the system.
The Commander’s Armor. Part of the Commander’s Regalia set, this light chain shirt adds a minor defensive bonus to all troops under your command. Troops must be within line of sight of the wearer for this effect to activate. The gear cost for this armor is 25. For each additional piece of the Commander’s Regalia set that is equipped, the gear cost for this armor is reduced by 5.
It was the first gear set I’d seen. The database back at Refuge had mentioned them, but they typically weren’t found until at least tier two. Looking like something from a Roman legion, or a gladiator movie, the gear matched pretty closely to what the Saul and the other retired soldiers had worn. Next up was the Pilum, which also proved to be part of the set.
The Commander’s Pilum. Part of the Commander’s Regalia set, this javelin is enhanced with lightning magic. When thrown, it will home in on its target with unerring accuracy and unleash lightning damage in addition to its normal damage types. Once used, the pilum will return to the wielder’s hand, but the magical effects will be spent until an hour has passed.
When equipped, any ranged troops under your command will receive a minor bonus to their accuracy. The gear cost for this weapon is 25. For each additional piece of the Commander’s Regalia that is equipped, the gear cost for this weapon is reduced by 5.
It was a great set that synergized well with my class. Even better, with three pieces of the set, the gear cost for each item was reduced. The sword’s gear cost would be down to 30 and the javelin thing would drop down to 15. Since the chain shirt was light armor, my normal cost reduction of 5 would kick in as well, making the armor’s gear cost only 10 if I had the other two items equipped.
The only downside to the set was my lack of skill with the sword, but I had a feeling that the skill scroll might take care of that, so I grabbed it next.
Scroll of the swordsman. Using this scroll unlocks the basic swordsman skill.
Just as I suspected, the scroll would unlock sword skills. There wasn’t anything to help me with throwing weapons like my new pilum but given it would automatically hit when I triggered its magic, I wasn’t as concerned over it. The set was amazing, and I was sorry to say that my trusty warhammer might be taking a back seat for a while.
The arena upgrade certificates were a nice addition, and combined with the ones I already had, my total was now up to six. There were also five consumable figurines in the chest, each of them identical tier one, rank 5 legionnaires, though one was a veteran. They were essentially younger versions of Saul and his troops. Next up was my new Foe Summoner template.
New Template.
Blighted Reaver. Tier 1, Rank 5. Mana reserve required, 75.
I’d have to test drive the reaver inside the training center to get more details on him, but I doubted that he would outperform Grulnok, who was a veteran. There was only one last item to check out, the ring. I had kind of hoped it would be part of the Commander’s Regalia set, but even though it wasn’t, it was certainly helpful.
Minor Ring of Mana. Equipping this ring grants the wearer an additional 10 mana. The gear cost for this item is 10.
All told, the contracted summoning had given me several powerful upgrades. The only thing to do now was to try out some various loadouts to see how I might maximize my newfound power.