After stepping into the portal, system information on my summoning appeared.

Your summoning parameters are as follows:

1. You are being summoned by use of a magic device.

2. Summoning tier, 1.

3. Summoning rank, 6.

4. Rewards level, modest.

5. This summons is support related. The chance of combat for this summoning is considered low. Prepare accordingly.

6. Forced compliance is active.

7. Your armory loadout has been equipped.

As I left the portal, I found myself standing on a cobblestone path in front of a mansion that looked like a cross between the Palace of Versailles and Hogwarts. Just past me was a carriage drawn by a team of half-bird, half-horse things with wings. In the back of my mind, I vaguely remembered that the creatures were called hippogriffs.

“Simon, give the new servant the standard orders. I must be off,” a middle-aged man who was my summoner commanded before walking back into the mansion.

Your summoning link has been transferred to the being known as Simon. You will obey his commands as if they were coming directly from the summoner.

“Very well sir, I bid you good day,” the man, Simon, said. He had an air of competence about him. A man who worked for someone else but was master of the small domain he had been granted authority over.

“Miss Elsbeth, Miss Emma, this gentleman shall be your escort this fine day,” Simon said as a pair of young teen girls wearing expensive-looking dresses exited the mansion and approached the coach.

“He’s an odd one, where’d you summon him from?” One of the girls asked, poking me in the gut and giving the Commander’s Regalia armor I was wearing a disdainful glare.

“Miss Elsbeth, your father summoned him from the usual device. As you know, these things are just mana given random form. He will see to it that you’re protected during your excursion,” Simon replied.

“Does it have a name, or should I call it thing, like the last one father summoned,” Elsbeth said.

“We’ll find out momentarily, just allow me to set the parameters of his summoning,” Simon said to the girl before turning to address me.

“I think we should call him thing. Maybe peasant thing is a good name for him, he does look like some peasant from some weird place,” the other girl, Emma, said. I was getting a bad vibe from this one. She reminded me of the typical mean girl you’d find in every high school. Mean and cruel, but either pretty or rich enough to never get in trouble for her actions. Ignoring the comments from Emma, Simon continued with his instructions.

“You will tell us your name if you have one. Your orders are to escort this pair as they go about their business. Help them in any endeavor, but make sure to keep them from any harm. They are not to go to the lower city, or into the adventurer’s guild. If it proves necessary, you may physically restrain them if they attempt to go where they are not permitted, but do not, under any circumstances, allow them to come to harm,” Simon ordered.

“Great, another prison guard doubling as a servant,” Elsbeth bemoaned as the two girls boarded the carriage before I could tell them my name.

Simon went back into the mansion, and I wasn’t quite sure where to go. I supposed that if I was to protect them, I had to be nearby, so I tried to follow the girls into the carriage. One of the servants shut and latched the carriage door before I could enter. The coachman caught my eye and nodded to a small platform at the back of the coach.

Standing on the narrow platform, I had barely found the hand grip bolted the back of the carriage when the coachman gave the hippogriffs the command to move. Holding on for dear life, the coach began to roll down the bumpy cobblestones. Once I had my balance and wasn’t in any danger of falling off the carriage, I tried to enjoy the ride.

The mansion had a beautiful garden covering much of the grounds, and a line of mature trees created a barrier around the place. A pair of guards in polished breastplates stood aside for the carriage to pass as we left the mansion and rolled onto a dirt road that led toward a large city in the distance. Spaced out at regular intervals were additional mansions, with each having a similar layout to the mansion I had just left.

It all sort of reminded me of the McMansions you’d see in the more upscale neighborhoods. Expensive homes that were very nice, but all sort of looked the same. They were places for the modestly wealthy who wanted to show off that they had made it. I guess people were the same whether they were in a fantasy world that was full of magic, or back on mundane Earth.

“Woah!” the coachman shouted to the team of hippogriffs as another carriage entered the road and cut us off.

Unhappy at being cut off, I could hear the driver cursing under his breath and the pair of hippogriffs also screeched their displeasure at the creatures pulling the other carriage. Instead of hippogriffs, a pair of lizards the size of horses strained at their traces as their driver also tried to avoid a wreck.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“What is going on out there driver! My father will hear of this,” Elsbeth complained from inside.

“I’m sorry, miss, a bit of traffic on the road today, another carriage has bolted out in front of us. I had to be a bit harsh on the team to avoid a collision,” the driver replied.

“Another carriage? Who’s is it?” Emma said as she opened the carriage door to look over the situation.

“Oh, it’s Ophelia again,” Emma said as she caught sight of the other carriage.

“She’s probably been waiting there for us all morning just so she can join us in the city,” Elsbeth said as the pair of girls exited the coach and made their way toward the other one. Compulsion kicked in and I dropped from my perch and followed, ready to assist in any way I could.

Another girl, dressed similarly to the pair I was escorting exited her coach and the trio began to act like they were the best of friends. Listening to a trio of spoiled teens chattering among themselves was not my idea of a great day, but I’d take it over getting attacked by monsters. If all I had to do was stand around until the summoning expired, I was more than fine with that. Sadly, it appeared that whatever device had been used to summon me was a powerful and long acting one.

“Look at him, I sincerely doubt that whatever peasant your father summoned to carry your bags today can stand up to my guardian,” the girl, Ophelia claimed. Her comment caught my attention, and I had mostly filtered out their inane banter while I had stood there waiting for any orders.

“Don’t be so sure, papa doesn’t skimp on his magic items. He might not look like much, but I’m certain he is more than capable,” Elsbeth replied.

“Oh, do we have a challenge?” Emma asked, egging the two on.

“What terms should we set for our little bet?” Ophelia asked.

“How about the loser has to give up the identity of the shop they have their handbags made at,” Elsbeth suggested.

“I’ll do you one better, the loser has to give up their handbag maker, and pay to commission a new bag for the winner,” Ophelia added.

“Done, Emma here can bear witness to the agreement. It doesn’t appear there is much traffic today, shall we expedite this and have our champions duel in the street?” Elsbeth asked.

“That is acceptable, now, give me a moment to summon my guardian,” Ophelia said. The smug look on her face made me a bit worried. Going to town on a shopping trip and carrying boxes and bags looked like it was out. I was going to be forced to participate in some kind of summoned creature duel.

“I hope that daddy chose correctly with you. Are you any good in a fight? You don’t look all that imposing,” Elsbeth asked as Ophelia pulled a summoning figurine from her bag and began to walk further down the road where the pending duel wouldn’t accidentally damage a carriage.

“It’s a little late to ask, isn’t it? Next time, figure out if your summoned assistant is a warrior before you go around challenging your little friends. To answer your question, I’m mediocre at personal combat, but I have more than a few other tricks up my sleeve,” I replied a bit sharply.

I’d never had much patience for annoying teens, and it was starting to show. I had to cool it if I didn’t want my attitude to affect my rating. Elsbeth’s face grew red as the young woman tried, and only partially succeeded in controlling her anger at my harsh reply.

“I’ll have none of that sass, servant. You will address me with respect. Get out there and destroy Ophelia’s little guardian so I can get on with my day,” Elsbeth said, shooing me away with the wave of her hand.

Ophelia was pushing mana into the figurine she held and a moment later, a two-headed version of the horse-sized lizards that pulled her carriage appeared. I wasted no time in summoning my crew, starting with Grulnok. As each of my minions appeared, Elsbeth squealed in happy surprise, and Ophelia began to argue.

“Not fair, you gave him summoning figures to use. That’s cheating Elsbeth,” Ophelia complained.

“I did no such thing, and I had no idea he could even do that,” Elsbeth argued.

“Sorry, Ophelia, I was there when Elsbeth’s father summoned this one, and I can assure you she has given her servant nothing to assist him in the duel,” Emma pipped in.

“It won’t matter, cuddles will deal with your servant and his filthy pets. Shall we begin?” Ophelia replied.

Just before the fight started, I cast Empower Minion on Grulnok and Lillia, and then Duplicated Grulnok. My mana was pretty much gone now, but I was as prepared as I could hope to be. All at once, the lizard lunged forward, one head aiming at Rupert and the other at Grulnok. Poor Rupert was too slow, and the tooth-lined maw of the lizard clamped shut, turning the dwarf commoner back into mana vapor.

Grulnok performed much better, dodging the attack, and retaliating with a pair of strikes from his weapons. The spiked mace cracked into the jaw of the reptile, crunching bone, and the axe hammered into the scales on its neck, cracking through and leaving blood gushing from the wound. Hissing in pain, the lizard tried to retreat, its good head snapping at the duplicate Grulnok who was closing in.

Lillia joined the fight, sidestepping the lizard’s tail as it tried to sweep her off her feet. Lacking the power of Grulnok, Lillia still did an admirable job, driving her spear deep into the side of the lizard. Beset on all sides, the lizard went into a frenzy, biting, clawing, and tail whipping with abandon.

My team handled it well, the two Grulnok pushing in and landing hits where they could, but Lillia missed a dodge and was finished off by another bite from the lizard. More wounds were opened on the giant reptile, and after a few moments, the monster began to slow, allowing the pair of Grulnok’s more openings to strike.

“Don’t fight those orcs, kill him!” Ophelia shouted to the lizard as she pointed at me. I had been staying back, keeping out of the fight, and allowing my minions to do the heavy lifting. Now, the lizard ignored both Grulnok’s and charged toward me. The veteran warriors slammed their axes and spiked maces into the monster as it passed. In the background I could hear Elsbeth argue that Ophelia was cheating by directing her summoned monster.

I even made a final effort to swipe with my sword as I tried to dodge, but the bulk of the lizard crashed into me. The monster landed atop me, and I could feel bones breaking from its weight. All at once, the weight lifted as the lizard disappeared into mana vapor. It removed the pressure, but the damage was done. Fractured ribs had punctured my lungs, and both my arms were broken, leaving me unable to grab a healing potion.

“I still think this was a setup, but a deal’s a deal,” Ophelia relented, agreeing to pay her debt to Elsbeth as darkness closed in and my vision faded.

You have died to internal injuries caused by a crushing impact with a large reptile.

Your performance rating is calculated as Good.

Your rewards will reflect you being summoned at Tier 1, Rank 6, and your performance rating of Good.

You have earned 8 experience points.

You have earned 7 summoning points.

You will now be returned to your personal space.