I was back in Rico’s Place again, and according to the gauge above my loot chest, I was done with this summoning series. First things first, I checked on my loot, I’d needed to decide what to take back with me when I left. There was something interesting included in the loot when I filtered for new items.
Rico’s Loot.
New Inventory.
1. Copper coins, 86.
2. Silver coins, 16.
3. Bound summoning figure, 1.
“What’s a bound summoning figure?” I asked myself since Minerva didn’t seem to be around. I pulled from the chest a small statue, about four inches tall. It looked just like the creepy merfolk people that I was not a fan of. By holding and concentrating on the object, I was given a system prompt.
You have acquired a bound summoning figurine. On rare occasions, creatures you defeat during your summons may be transformed into these figurines as a reward for your performance. These figurines are bound to your mana core and cannot be used by any other being. Bound summoning figurines are one time use items.
To activate this figurine, push two points of mana into it. Once powered by your mana, the creature inside will be summoned and serve you for the duration of the summons. The duration of the summons varies based on the figurine tier and rank. This figurine is tier 0, rank 5.
Okay, this was actually a pretty cool item. I could be a summoned summoner with this thing. Was this something I could take home with me? If I took it back, there was the risk that it would become inert if it contained mana. The fact that I had to power it with my own mana made me think it might be okay.
It was worth the risk to test it out. Worst case scenario, I was out a powerful, single use item. Best case scenario, I could summon an evil merman to help me back on Earth. Yeah, I was going to roll the dice on this thing. Before my time ran out, I took stock of the total Inventory in Rico’s Loot.
Rico’s Loot contents.
1. Copper coins, 204.
2. Silver coins, 42.
3. Nigerian Naira, 25,000.
4. Summoning figurine, 1.
Everything but the copper was going with me. I could see money becoming more of a problem as I reached higher tiers. I’d need some to fund life on Earth, but I’d also need a sizeable amount here in my loot chest to purchase armor, weapons, and whatever else might be available past the city gates of Somhagen.
A final check of my personal status revealed that my mana was back to full, which was always a good thing when heading home. I gave myself a mental reminder to push a point of mana into the rift travel containment field when I got home, there was no way I was going to come home naked again if I had the power to stop it.
Rico Kline, Summoned Being.
Tier 0, Rank 6.
Experience/experience needed for next rank: 0/15.
Summoning points: 1.
Mana, 12/12.
Mana core upgrades:
1. Rift travel containment field.
Abilities:
1. Linguistic adaptation interface.
2. Riposte.
3. Open.
My mana had increased by a point again, and the pool was full. It must be tied to my rank now, since it seems to go up by a point each time that I gained a new rank. It must also be topped off to full when I ranked up, since I had used some during the crazy chess game that I had just participated in. I’m sure that more powerful spells were going to cost more mana, so having my mana pool slowly expand to keep pace was a big help.
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I made one last tour of the place before heading home. My armory was unchanged, and I couldn’t wait until I had more gear and loadout options. Giving my rocking chair one final sit, I was ready to go. I really needed a rocking chair like this for my apartment.
You have selected to return to your home world while carrying a bound item from your personal rewards. This item will be stored inside your mana core and become available for your use when you will it.
Your performance rating for this series of summons is considered good.
The additional rewards for this summoning series are as follows.
Experience points, 7.
Summoning points, 5.
I wasn’t sure how that figurine was going to be stored inside my mana core. What if I brought something bigger back with me, like a weapon or armor that was bound. Would it get stuck inside me and slice me open or press against my organs and stuff? Before I could worry about what the four-inch figurine was going to do to me, I was back home.
This time, there was no smoke alarm going off and my landlady wasn’t pounding on the door. I stood there for a moment, waiting for something to happen, but everything was as calm as it appeared. There, at my feet was the leather bag with my rewards, and the long dagger that I had tried to take with me was lying next to it on the floor.
It was still early morning on the same day that I had left. That was going to take some getting used to. A long summoning series and my trip to Somhagen made it seem like I’d been gone for a week when less than an hour had passed here on Earth. I had the whole day ahead of me, and first off, some rewards to deal with.
Pulling on my clothes, I stopped to push a single mana point into the rift travel deal so I wouldn’t be naked next time I was summoned. I also made sure that I always had a bandage or two stashed in my pockets. My test earlier had shown that a few in my pocket would transfer over without any problem and I didn’t need to tie them to my clothes like a weirdo.
Once dressed, my first stop would be back to the pawn shop, and then to the bank to see about cashing in the Nigerian money. A quick check on my phone revealed that the exchange rate wasn’t very good on Nigerian Naira when converted into dollars. The 25,000 naira was only going to come out to around thirty-two bucks minus whatever the bank charged for the conversion.
It was overcast today, but still hot. I had lost track of what day it was and had to check my phone to confirm it was Sunday, and that was why the bus stop, and the traffic was lighter than usual. It was just before 10am and I wasn’t sure how early the pawn shop would open.
Luckily, the pawn shop was already open, and a few people were shopping inside. Gary, and another employee that I hadn’t met before were helping the customers, some of whom were making payments on stuff in pawn or buying various items. I waited in the back of the crowd, feeling a bit self-conscious since I was standing there carrying an old leather bag full of stuff.
I didn’t mind waiting for the other customers to leave, I always felt kind of exposed dropping a bunch of valuable coins on the counter in front of other people in a pawn shop. Maybe I was just paranoid, but I didn’t want someone to try and follow me home to see if I had more valuables stashed away. The morning crowd at the pawn shop wasn't that sketchy, but you never knew.
If anything, the customers today seemed a bit better dressed than usual. Gary finally finished up with the customer he had been helping, so I stepped up and dropped the bag on the counter for him to start inspecting.
“Sorry, Rico, I had no choice,” he said as a stern looking, older man in a suit walked from the back of the shop.
“I hear you have some interesting things for sale, young man. I don’t suppose that bag you’re holding has more of these in it? The man asked holding up one of my silver coins.
I turned to run, but two other men in suits were blocking the door. The other customer in the shop also moved to box me in. Were these the same people I had helped Isaac escape from back in Nigeria? Did they know who and what I was or were they just trying to track down information on the coins.
“Yeah, I have some of these from my dad’s inheritance. I’ve been selling them here. Nothing illegal with that, is there?” I asked, trying to seem confident and unafraid.
“What’s your name, young man,” a middle-aged woman that had been posing as a customer asked.
“Rico, Rico Kline,” I answered.
“Pleased to meet you, I’m agent Smith. Now, normally, we wouldn’t care about something as trivial as a few odd silver coins. If it’s your property, you’re more than welcome to do with it what you will. We’re not really interested in the coins themselves, only the way in which they were acquired,” Agent Smith asked, though I was pretty sure it wasn’t her real name.
“Tell me, Rico, have you gone on any interesting trips lately? Visited some strange places,” the older man in the suit said as he walked from behind the counter and closed in on me.
“This isn’t good,” I muttered to myself as I looked for a way out.