As I stepped into the portal, the summoning information appeared.
Your summoning parameters are as follows:
1. You are being summoned by the summoned being Isaac Abebayo.
2. Summoning tier, 0.
3. Summoning rank, 5.
4. Rewards level, minimal.
5. This summons is combat related. Prepare accordingly.
6. Forced compliance is active.
7. You have a tier zero loadout prepared in the armory; do you wish to automatically equip this loadout going forward?
I was being summoned by another summoned being? Was that a thing? So many questions, but nobody to ask, and no time to ask them. I agreed to have my tier zero loadout always active. There was no way I was going in unarmed. The portal emptied into what looked like an abandoned warehouse of some kind. It was hot and dry inside, but I didn’t have time to take in too much of my surroundings as my summoner issued commands.
“Stay against the wall next to the doorway. When my pursuers enter, kill them and buy me some time to escape,” my summoner, Isaac, commanded. He was a slender, middle aged black man in a button up white shirt, dress slacks, and leather dress shoes. Definitely not the proper attire for someone in a combat situation.
“Wait, you’re from here, you’re from Earth?” He asked. With the question asked, I was able to reply.
“Yes, I’m Rico, from the US, where are we now?” I asked.
“Nigeria, but where you are from won’t save you. Be careful Rico, don’t trust anyone,” Isaac said as he ran toward the exit on the far side of the warehouse. I wanted to ask so much more, but Isaac apparently didn’t have time to stop and chat. I followed my orders and posted myself on the wall near the doorway.
In the distance, I could hear the pursuers approaching. While moving into position I had a chance to peek inside the doorway. It opened into a stairwell that led down into a basement or something. Already, I could hear the sounds of people stomping their way up the metal staircase.
The pursuers were from here, so there was a good chance they were armed, and not with medieval style weapons. These guys would have guns, and I’d need something to even the odds. Checking on my mana core, it was full, and not only was it full, but its capacity had also expanded to eleven points.
I had been so caught up in the all the new stuff I unlocked at rank five that I didn’t think to check if anything else had changed. Despite the way this world ate into my mana pool as soon as I started to use it, I figured that I could get at least a couple casts of Psionic Jolt before I ran dry.
The first figure ran out the door, focused on Isaac who had just run out of the warehouse. Pulling my mana, I unleashed a Psionic Jolt at the man. He screamed and clutched his head, skidding painfully across the ground due to his momentum. A second and third figure emerged from the doorway, also not noticing my presence.
Firing off my second spell, the mana pool finally dried up, it was time to go old school on these clowns. Pushing off the wall, I swung my mace at a fourth figure that was emerging from the doorway. My weapon hit the back of his head with a sickening crunch. This guy wasn’t getting back up again.
The one that I hadn’t hit with a spell or weapon pointed a pistol in my direction. I leaped forward, trying to get another hit in before I was shot. The gun boomed and I could feel the slugs impact in my chest. My swing lacked power, but my mace still hammered into the final attacker’s forehead, knocking him to the ground where I collapsed atop him.
I was fading fast and couldn’t even turn to look at how bad my chest was. At least three shots had hit me center mass, so my summoning was almost at an end. Since Isaac warned me about the people pursuing him, I tried to get a good look before I faded away. They were all dressed in suits and looked like they were in top shape. It was almost like a scene from a movie where a secret government agency was after someone.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
As my summoning ended, I was happy to note that all four attackers were either dead or still incapacitated. The two I had hit with my spell were staggering to their feet, but I doubted they’d be able to sprint off after Isaac anytime soon. He should be safe enough, at least for now.
You have died from several gunshot wounds to your torso causing damage to your heart and internal bleeding.
Your performance rating is calculated as Good.
Your rewards will reflect the summoning tier of 0, rank 5, and your performance rating of Good.
You have earned 5 experience points.
You have earned 3 summoning points.
Your summoning points have been deducted due to an outstanding debt. Your current debt balance is 5 points.
Prepare to return to your personal space.
Compatible world resources detected; reward will be adjusted accordingly.
“Welcome back Rico, I’m sorry I had to leave you in Somhagen. I trust your visit was fruitful?” Minerva said.
“Yeah, like an idiot, I let myself get roped into a duel that I lost, and something weird just happened to me. I was summoned by someone on my home planet, by another summoned being,” I replied, still a bit flustered over my most recent summoning.
“That should be expected occasionally. A summoned being that has developed their mana core and that was high enough tier, should have acquired a summoning spell or two. As a summoned being, anything you summon will be more powerful than the tier and rank of the spell. Your summoner probably used a basic, tier zero, rank zero summoning spell and got lucky when you showed up,” Minerva explained.
“So, I’ll get summoning spells at some point?” I asked, more than a little excited to be the summoner and not the summoned.
“In all likelihood, yes.”
“The guy that summoned me also warned me that people would be coming for me. Is there some way that people on my planet can track down summoned beings?” I asked.
“It would be unlikely as long as you didn’t do anything to draw their attention, such as using a magic spell or item from your time here,” Minerva warned.
“Well, I may have done that when I returned home after being summoned by Sharnlynn,” I said guiltily.
“That is unfortunate, but while there are likely nefarious groups seeking summoned beings on your planet. Their means of detecting you will be limited at best. I would refrain from anything else that might draw attention to your current situation,” Minerva warned.
“You can be sure that I’ll do that,” I said. Unless the situation was dire, there was no way I was going to go around casting spells, despite how fun it might be.
“When I was at the shop where you exchange summoning points for stuff, they mentioned an item that would stop me from remaining as a summoned being. Do you know anything about that?” I asked.
“It is possible, and I assume it was a very powerful and very expensive item. Such things exist, but by the time many achieve the tier and rank to afford and use such an item, they wish to remain as a summoned being,” Minerva said.
“Why, would someone want to experience what I do almost every time I’m summoned?” I asked.
“At a high tier and rank, a summoned being will have amassed great wealth, enough to rival any king or ruler you could think of. In addition, their summoning’s are often of a different variety than you experience at the lower tiers and ranks. The main reason most wish to remain, are the physical benefits they enjoy,” Minerva explained.
“Physical benefits?” I asked, hoping she wasn’t talking about numbing down my response to trauma again.
“For as long as you are a summoned being, you will not become afflicted with any serious disease or ailment from your world. The aging process is also nearly halted. Each time you are summoned, your body is renewed and refreshed,” Minerva said.
“So, I’m immortal?”
“No, you can still die in several ways, both back on your home world and while summoned to others, and you will eventually age, but your natural lifespan will be measured in thousands of years if you don’t meet an unfortunate end too early. I know becoming a summoned being was not something you chose, but the rewards are impressive indeed,” Minerva said.
“So, I can still be shot or killed back home, and it’s game over?” I asked. Whatever deadly situation that might happen to me while summoned was something that Minerva refused to explain, at least until I was a higher tier, but the risks back home might be another story.
“That is correct, as you progress, you’ll unlock more defenses and magic that you will take back with you, making your early demise less likely, but until you have gained that power, try to avoid being killed,” Minerva said as a fresh portal opened.
You are Summoned!