Chapter 221. Almost Human.
My life on Earth fell into a pattern. Each morning, I would head to the military base and train with Major Finley and his team. Half the day was spent with me learning to fight, and how to fight my team. The other half of the day was spent with the soldiers, allowing them to spar with my minions.
The soldiers were very interested in my experiences on the different summonings, and surprised to find out that when I was summoned, very little time would pass here at home. A few of the platoon, which I learned was the size of the unit I was training with, were gamers and had an easier time digesting everything.
On the third day of training, I brought Melvin with me. Hearing what he was and how dangerous his species could be, the soldiers tried not to get too close to the gelatinous cube. Just like with the group at Refuge, Melvin soon won them over, mooching food and happily joining in on our training.
I felt like was learning at a breakneck pace, and Major Finley proved to be a great trainer. It took time, but he worked out how best to incorporate modern military tactics into a system of combat that resembled a fantasy game or movie. Some of the principles were the same, making smart use of cover and concealment, closing with, or keeping distance from an enemy, and the proper employment of my troops and weapons to create the most mayhem.
The training also allowed me to gauge how long it took my minions to respawn after they were unsummoned or destroyed. Here on Earth, it seemed the average was an hour or so, with higher tier and rank minions taking longer. On a mana-rich world, I figured the time would be less. It was something I’d have to test out during my next summoning.
When I was back at Refuge at the end of the day, I typically would debrief with Julio and Marie. Julio was becoming more and more the guy who organized things at the apartment complex that served as our headquarters, and Marie was the liaison to other Refuge groups, the government, and people like the Grimslade Group. I was just glad that I wasn’t the one who had to organize and keep track of all the moving pieces.
On my fourth day of training, during our lunch break, I found out I was a millionaire. A check of my account when we went off post for lunch showed that the government had deposited $1.2 million into my account as reimbursement for the mana gauge and all the information that I’d brought back from Somhagen. It was far more than I was expecting, and despite having more money than I ever imagined, there really wasn’t much I wanted to spend it on.
My life had expanded greatly with visiting new worlds and being part of something here at home. Despite that, it sometimes felt restrictive given that there were few people that I could share my crazy existence with. I was almost feeling a bit depressed before remembering that my life before becoming a summoned being wasn’t all that great either.
Before becoming a summoned being, I couldn’t afford to travel, I wasn’t very social, and generally kept to myself before my new life began. Now, I felt much more outgoing, and I’d made friends here at home, and on other worlds. There was stress, and I feared letting someone down who really needed me on a summoning. Despite the stress, and the occasional horrible death, I found that I did enjoy this new life much more than I had thought I would after that first fateful summoning.
It turned out that becoming a millionaire didn’t exempt me from being summoned to another world. Just after starting an afternoon training class where I was playing the opposition force for the soldiers, the familiar prompt appeared.
You are Summoned!
I was back in my personal space, but I almost didn’t recognize it at first. The place was now decorated, and I had servants waiting for me to give them instructions. Melvin had returned with me and sent me feelings of gratitude and images of all the fun he’d had. He still seemed particularly happy about the tacos. Before I could begin to enjoy my newly upgraded personal space, the summoning portal opened. I stepped through and was off to my next adventure.
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
Your summoning parameters are as follows:
1. You are being summoned by a magical artifact.
2. Summoning tier, 2.
3. Summoning rank, 1.
4. Rewards level, moderate.
5. This summons is support related. The chance of combat is considered low. Prepare accordingly.
6. Forced compliance is active.
7. Your armory loadout has been equipped.
I stepped through the portal and into a small room. Outside the single window, the sun was beginning to set, and the room was partially cloaked in shadow. The glow of a cigar in the corner of the room corresponded with the link to my summoner. He stood up and walked into the light.
My summoner seemed almost human, but something was a bit off. His face looked like it was stretched out and the nose was much smaller than a regular human. He wore dress pants and black boots. A white, somewhat wrinkled shirt was worn under a red vest, and the whole outfit was covered by a long, dark duster coat. A watch on a gold chain was partially stuffed into his vest and the man wore a tricorn hat.
To me he looked like an alien who went into the old west after headbutting a pirate and stealing his hat. My summoner took a long puff of his cigar as he looked me over, blowing out the smoke into a rather impressive ring. In the hand not holding the cigar, the man carried a small gold box. My link to him flowed through that box, which must have been the artifact that he had used to summon me.
“What do we have here? You look like a barnax, but your face is all squished up and your nose is massive,” my summoner said.
“I’m a human, not a barnax. Trust me, your face looks as off to me as mine does to you,” I replied, assuming his earlier statement would count by the system as permission to speak with him.
“I figure that’s true friend. Tell me, what’s your name and what kind of class are you?” the summoner asked, apparently not offended by my comment.
“I’m Rico Kline, and class is a type of summoning class,” I replied.
“Well there, Rico, I’m Barrett Gold, pleasure to meet you. Tell me, kid, are you just something the magic in this here box whipped up, or are you real?” Barrett asked.
“Real, though the things I summon are just mana constructs,” I explained.
“It appears this magic box wasn’t some flim-flam after all. I was almost certain the old shaman that sold it to me was trying to pull a fast one. You said you could summon other people, what kinds of people and how long will they stick around for? Just so you know, this box is supposed to keep you here for twelve hours, which is more than enough time for what I need,” Barrett asked.
“I can summon a few things that will stay around for as long as I will unless something happens to them. As far as what I can summon, I can call up some goblins, a gnoll, a halfling, and a mechanical drone,” I explained, keeping the descriptions of my minions simple unless he asked about their capabilities specifically.
“Well, them gobs are no use to us unless this night’s venture turns into a scrap. Gnolls are common enough, can your minion sit still for a while and perform a simple task?” Barrett asked.
“I don’t see why not. What kind of task do you need him to perform?” I asked.
“Just like I said, Rico, he just needs to sit in a chair and occasionally hold up a book like he’s focused on reading it,” Barrett explained.
“That shouldn’t be a problem, do you just need him? What about the halfling and drone?” I asked.
“Nah, the halfling would raise suspicion, they’re seen as thieves and cheats round these parts. What’s that drone look like,” He asked.
“It’s a seven-foot-tall humanoid with two pairs of arms. Deadly claws on his longer arms and feet. He’s heavily armored and can even stealth if we need him to,” I answered.
“While I’d like to see that, why don’t we keep that one under wraps unless we get into a scuffle. We bring him out and every gnome in the joint will be pawing at it and trying to buy it from you,” Barrett said, digging into his pack to pull out two worn paperback books of an odd shape.
“What exactly are we supposed to do for you, Barrett?” I asked.
“Well, Mr. Rico, tonight, we’re playing some cards,” Barrett said, his face lighting up with a smile.
“Just for your information, I’m not very good at cards, and I doubt I know whatever game it is they play here. If you just need someone to play with, I’m willing to learn,” I replied.
“No, Rico, you don’t need to actually play, you need to sit where I tell you to in the saloon and read. You can do that, can’t you?” he asked.
“Sure, but why, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Rico, I’ll be the one sitting there at the high-stakes table playing cards, you and gnoll will be sitting nearby, helping me to see what cards the other players are holding,” he explained.
“So, I’m helping you to cheat at cards,” I said flatly, my disappointment obvious in my expression.
“You got it, Rico, now, let’s get to work. Here’s what I need you to do…”