Rise of the Weakest Summoner

“First things first…” The Nest Mother interrupted the staredown.

“Ugh!” Jellal grunted as all the air escaped his lungs from getting slugged right in the stomach by the feisty female.

His companion gasped in shock but visibly hesitated about coming to her mentor’s and mate’s help, her gaze flicking to the figure of Asterios anxiously. While there might be something between the two, it didn’t seem to run deep enough for the girl to jump to his defense no matter the circumstances, something Asterios noted would have happened immediately if Miria was in her position.

But honestly, he shouldn’t really be comparing the two, no offense to the young Lesser Dragon. His energetic mate simply had no inhibitions when it came to him. And he knew it was the same the other way too. Especially now that his draconic temperament was no longer being suppressed but instead reinforced him and his emotions.

Which might not always be for the best, but there always were some downsides to the immense positives that required some mental or physical struggle.

“What was that for?” The man groaned while straightening up after the blow, continuously massaging his abdomen.

“For almost killing us all!” Rhufija snarled at him. “And it’s not yet definite. The Dragon could be back.”

“Hopefully, things will work out as intended and he won’t check this direction after I dissuaded him from it,” Asterios joined in. “We’ll stay behind for a while to make sure. I guess you are stuck with me for a bit longer, unfortunately.”

He directed the last remark towards the crowd while roaming his gaze over the remaining attendees to gauge their mood. While whittled down, the audience was still relatively full. Quite a few mentors had fled, but it appeared that the younger generations were simply too curious to see what this all was about. Or too scared to run off. Perhaps some of them trusted their Nest Mother, and seeing the leader not freak out over his presence, they had decided to take this gamble.

“Oh, how magnanimous of you.” Jellal let out a strained chuckle. “Chasing away the sudden aggressor just so you can have us all to yourself. And with such a convenient ploy, appearing right at the most crucial moment. Love for theatrics, I guess? And they blame it all on me.”

Asterios raised a brow at the man. “Because it is your fault? At least partially? That Dragon was literally tailing the two of you the entire way. Maybe unknowingly, but you still led him here. I agree that it was rather convenient that I showed up just then, but I have been here for quite a while. Perhaps I should thank you for setting up this stage for me, but I won’t, because I had no intentions of taking part in this play in the first place.”

The brown-haired mentor scoffed. “On whose word? Yours? Don’t make me laugh. We aren’t going to trust what a cursed lizard says, are we now? Especially when it’s painfully clear you two planned all of this for some reason. Did you think that we would fall to our knees and worship you like a hero for this? A savior? Messiah? Got bored of conquering the nests the old-fashioned way? No wonder Althea’s principles got twisted under an owner like this.”

A frown creasing Ast’s forehead at the insult to his wise mate, he opened his mouth to respond, only to be beaten to it by someone else.

“I heard it all too!” Miria said angrily, stepping off the stage. “Everyone messes up sometimes, even the smart people like Master. Is it really that hard to apologize for your mistakes instead of shifting the blame onto the others?”

“A slave’s statements have no credibility,” he replied coldly, glaring her up and down with disgust. “You are all just pawns in his claws, dancing to whatever tune your master chooses.”

“I’m not a slave!” She growled audibly, her fur puffing up. “I’m Master’s mate!”

“A lesser thing like you?” Jellal snorted. “You can not prove that. Don’t even try to fool me, child.”

“I can!” The panthergirl used her spiritual energy to store the right sleeve bracer inside her soul and thrust her hand up, turning its back to him.

Faintly at first, crimson light shone through the black hair covering her fingers and revealed the characteristic band of a mate. Moving in a single file, the other ladies stopped behind her and mirrored the motion from up on the stage. In a few seconds, all seven of them held their palms above their heads and displayed the glowing rings proudly, including Althea.

A quiet murmur passed through the crowd as the man gaped at the sight, started by the more knowledgeable prospective disciples. Asterios heard them question the mentors above about the legitimacy of this and those more experienced individuals hesitantly confirmed it, noticeably surprised. The message quickly reached the very ends of the auditorium.

“I would be grateful if you refrained from slandering those I hold dear,” Asterios warned the man. “They dedicated themselves to me on their own. I might not be hostile to your kind, but that doesn’t mean much in front of your kind.”

“This is impossible…” Jellal muttered.

“Miria is right,” Althea joined in, coming closer again. “We should start with your apology and admission of fault. Then we can move on to the previous matter, which has now been brought to light rather unexpectedly ahead of time. Unfortunately, you’ve never been good at humility and self-reflection. It’s always been someone else to blame.”

“You…” He squinted at her fiercely, making Miria growl again while showing her sharp canines. “I knew something was wrong with you. It seems the lucky star has been shining on me that day you deserted without me noticing. I truly dodged an arrow back then.”

Then, he turned to the spectators and swung his arm at them.

“Are you going to believe a group of complete strangers and one dishonored disciple? I’m sure you’ve already heard the story. You’ll be playing right into their hands! You should all be making a run for it before they get tired of this charade!” The man found the Nest Mother’s gaze. “And you, Rhufija, why aren’t you doing anything about this? There’s a True Dragon in your home with wicked intentions!”

~He seems to be trying to reduce the number of witnesses,~ Silvia commented mentally.

~Bastard,~ Tina added. ~His type will do anything to save their image. I’ve seen professors like him, thinking of themselves as infallible.~

“You will address me by the proper title, Mentor.” Rhufija clenched her fists. “And I have already confirmed their intentions myself. I’ve been to their realm, seen their kingdom, and returned unharmed and uninfluenced. Right now, the only one I should be doing something about is you. I’m already barely holding back from mauling you to death so don’t test my patience.”

There was some more quiet chatter after the fresh revelation as the attendees discussed between themselves what that meant. Some believed their guardian had been compromised too, while others defended the woman valiantly, disagreeing that she and her mates would ever side themselves with a True Dragon after everything they had experienced.

“It’s back!” A scout shouted from above and everyone froze once again, instantly forgetting about the squabble.

Asterios readied himself to act while watching for the spotter’s next words. He couldn’t reach out with his senses under the risk of the other Dragon noticing he was right here. His aura was already known to the other guy, in the end.

But, Umbra shared no such limitations.

“He is flying very fast in the direction he had initially come from,” Asterios repeated the Lord of Shadows’ observations. “Didn’t even spare a glance our way. It looks like he dropped searching the dead trail on his own and is now convinced that I was right when I said that his prey chose a different path. This still doesn’t guarantee that he won’t return once more after not finding anything, but I’ll keep my eyes on his position, maybe even follow him to his lair to see what we are dealing with.”

With his last words, Umbra did exactly that and attached himself to the Dragon’s shadow, sneakily spying on their quarry. They soon left the range of Ast’s close senses.

“He is… right,” the recon confirmed, slightly stunned and impressed. “That Dragon did seem to be in a rush.”

“Now that the uninvited guest is gone, let us get back to the heart of the matter,” Althea said, capturing everyone’s attention. “You mentioned a story, one everyone knows, or has learned just recently through various means and sources.”

She eyed a certain purple-scaled individual, who seemed a tad fidgety. Now that her influential associate wasn’t the most significant person in the gathering, Keruvia might be starting to have second thoughts about the side she had picked. It certainly didn’t help when Asterios looked at her too while following his wise mate’s gaze, causing the girl to shiver slightly. Meanwhile, Rusi was grinning from ear to ear as she stood on the side.

“I’m afraid the public does not know all the details,” the emerald-scaled Dragon lady continued. “And I’m sure all the mentors will agree with me that we should always base our opinions and conclusions on the full material. Or at least the most detailed and up-to-date version, revising them appropriately so that we don’t teach the young incorrectly. So, let’s fill in the gaps, shall we?”

Jellal turned to face her with a somewhat arrogant look, but perhaps that was just how his muscles rested. “I have already shared my side of the story with the world long ago. You can surely try to share yours. But, considering our soured relationship, it’s rather obvious they will differ and paint the other in a worse light. Without an outside witness, neither of the sides can be treated as objective. It unfortunately boils down to your word versus mine and in which the majority believes.”

“Well, let’s make ourselves some outside witnesses then.” She showed a delicate smirk.

“What?” He blinked at her in confusion.

“One of my mate’s familiars is an expert of the mind. Why don’t we each share our respective points of view with everyone here and let them judge whose verbal version is closer to the original?” Althea suggested. “I bet the disciples are dying to take a dive into the precious memories of not just one but two mentors. It’s not an opportunity one comes across often.”

“You are dreaming if you think I’m going to let any of you into my head.” Jellal scoffed with disgust. “You’ll simply alter my memories to match yours, or possibly worse, brainwash me on the spot. You are finally showing your true colors, aren’t you?”

“Is the big baby scared of showing the truth? Oh, boohoo.” Grea mocked him while making a sad pout. “Fortunately, for the Dragons who have a bit of a chicken in their bloodline, we have this.”

She ostentatiously waved her palm and brought out an ornamental table out of her spatial ring. It was a relatively small piece of furniture with its surface covered in magical runes and inscriptions. In the very center, some kind of a mysterious orb poked halfway out of the wood. A sizable rectangular pane of crystal was lodged vertically in it, currently looking slightly cloudy and blurry but still relatively see-through.

“What is that?” Someone from the front rows curiously leaned forward.

“I’m glad you asked!” The crimson-skinned demon winked at the inquisitive person. “For those who can be a bit too paranoid about sharing their mind with another, we came up with this little artifact alongside some of our friends. You just stand in front of it firmly, smack your palms onto the bright and totally-not-obvious handprints, arch your back while pushing your hips out, and show everyone exactly the thing you wish to, just like this.”

Following each step of her own presentation as it went, Grea connected herself with the device and the thick pane darkened. Soon after, it swirled a little and displayed some kind of an image. After stabilizing, it turned out to be a view straight out of her eyes, but not of the current events. Instead, everyone could see the demon researcher tinker with some of her research in the safety of her underground lab Asterios and the girls instantly recognized.

“Its use is extremely intuitive, and you can share not just the image or sound but even your inner monologue,” she added and made the array emit her voice, which rambled about some steps she was taking during that memory. “See? Super easy and super effective. You can quickly jump from one moment to another.”

The view flickered between memories, showing a few scenes the demon woman had in mind. Thankfully, she kept all of them fairly filtered, avoiding things Asterios and his group could consider confidential. 

At least until…

“Since I’m already connected and y’all seem so into it, why don’t I show you how amazing our draconic mate truly is?” She grinned, starting to switch between various views. “He might be a True Dragon by birth, sure, but you should really see how much of a nice guy he is. How much of a softie he is. How much of a hero he is, even if he denies it. How much of a lover—”

The display cut off as Asterios hoisted the unruly lady up by the collar, separating her hands from the circuits just as she jumped to the very first frame of something rather inappropriate. Only for a split-second, but the sight of his bare-chested upper self hovering over her perspective with a familiar ceiling behind his back made that more than clear.

Thankfully, he had sensed the change in the flow of her thoughts early.

Bringing Grea level with his face, he glared at her slightly, without much heat in his eyes, only strong enough to make his point just as clear. She smiled at him sheepishly while dangling by the scruff of her neck. Mouthing a silent apology as her red cheeks darkened under his scornful look, she landed back on the ground and cleared her throat.

“Anyway, we have more than one so our defendants can go both at once, letting us compare the past events as they play out,” Grea finished her presentation. “Is this satisfactory for Sir Chicken and Madam Hot Chick he had raised?”

Her mockery brought out some chuckles and snickers from the spectators.

Jellal rolled his eyes. “Don’t make me laugh. This is no different—”

“I have nothing to hide,” Althea cut him off, approaching the artifact desk. “Both the mistakes and the achievements I collected throughout my life have made me who I am. No one is perfect, but no one has to be. We constantly learn how to live with ourselves and make an effort to be better with each experience we receive from the world, be it good or bad.”

Following Grea’s set of instructions, save for the bits that were intentionally so unnecessarily seductive, she linked her mind with the device and began the show.

One by one, Althea shared her memories with the crowd. She started from the day she’d been picked up by her soon-to-be mentor. Some scenes of their lessons followed as she showed not only his bad sides but also the ones she considered good in the academic sense. It definitely wasn’t her goal to focus only on the moments that didn’t do him any favor.

Everyone watched and listened to the duo’s travels. At least to the little tidbits. Asterios could spot a few signs of the man’s additional interest, but perhaps that was because he had already seen some of this with the girls as Althea had chosen to kindly share more of her past with them one night, so this wasn’t his first time analyzing the images. Nevertheless, the memories didn’t make Jellal that much of a bad guy.

Yet.

The display then shifted to an extremely pretty location. A pair of Lesser Dragons slithered through a valley full of rainbows, beautiful and low-hanging mist, trees with leaves of various almost fictional colors, and steaming waterfalls. A settlement, most likely a nest, was hidden behind the biggest one. They flew right in before following a masterfully chiseled path to a cavern overlooking the colony.

Jellal and Althea shared a meal there, chatted a bit about their journey, held some brief lessons, and went for a walk. They strolled through what looked like a small market where he brought her to a few stalls, perusing the goods thoughtfully. At each one, she was offered something after a moment. A robe here, an intricate bangle there, a hairpin then, some kind of an oriental tool too. She politely declined the gifts until they landed on a fair bookmark.

Another swirl of the display and they were back to the spot looking over the settlement.

“I have to say, it’s been a much bigger pleasure to share this journey with you than I had initially expected,” Jellal said with her by his side, hands joined behind his back. “The number of times you’ve made me proud and astonished was fairly high. You are such a unique young creature, unmatched in this universe, be it in smarts, beauty, or character. I don’t think there’s another like you anywhere the sapient life reaches.”

“Your praise honors me, sir.” She bowed respectfully.

“Oh, no, you honor me, dear.” He chuckled, turning to her. “I’ve never met someone like you. And that’s why, I can confidently say that you are going to be such a fine Dragon. So fine, in fact, that I’m wondering just about one thing.”

As she looked at him again, he had a brown scale in his fingers, playing with it softly. Asterios and all the Lesser Dragons recognized it and its significance right away. So had Althea from the past and it must have shown on her face because Jellal smiled lightly to himself.

“We constantly learn how to live with ourselves and make an effort to be better with each experience we receive from the world, be it good or bad,” he quoted her, or perhaps she had quoted him just a moment earlier in the current time. “What would you say about continuing to do just that by my side as a proud member of our kin? Imagine what a pair of exceptional individuals such as us could discover and achieve together. I see no greater felicity than your company throughout the rest of my life. Do you?”

Seeing him turn his face her way and raise a brow, the past Althea pondered over her mentor’s words. She didn’t take long to understand the real intention behind the question, and just as quickly came up with a polite answer, ducking her head gently.

“Your high opinion brings me joy, sir. The time we spent together will always remain in my memories as precious moments, no matter what. I’ll gladly study the world by your side as a full-fledged adult for a while longer, but my wish is to witness the realms at my own leisure pace, unafraid of holding anyone back. I would like to take my time to contemplate some truths in seclusion, unable to guess how long that might take. Therefore, I’m grateful for such a generous offer, but I’m unfit to properly match it as of right now,” she replied.

He stared at her for a few more seconds before closing his palm around the scale. “I see. That’s completely understandable. Everyone needs time. And time we shall have plenty, shan’t we?”

“Yes, sir.” Althea gave him a gentle smile in response.

The conversation wrapped up there as the man looked into the distance thoughtfully for quite a moment before they moved on. From the glances she was giving her mentor throughout the next hours, she was expecting to receive his scale, but that didn’t happen. Instead, they left the next day and resumed their journey, but Jellal was noticeably colder and somewhat stricter here and there. 

Althea’s thoughts about her not being fully ready for the final step yet were shown, and that final push stretched quite a bit. When nothing seemed to change, she confronted him and was told that it wasn’t yet time. Finally, she seemed to catch on, ceasing convincing herself that she was still the problem, and reluctantly left.

Shortly after, the memories cut off. Not before showing a few scenes of people reacting to her presence in some nearby settlements for the following days, weeks, and months, of course.

“Alright. Your turn.” Grea fancily gestured at Jellal.

“I have no reason to take part in these illusions of yours.” The man fixed his robes, something Asterios recognized as an anxious tick from the recollection they watched. “It’s obvious this artifact will show a mirrored version of the events with another viewing. Who knows what else it might do?”

The attendees whined in disappointment, looking very forward to the continuation of the show and drama.

Rhufija sighed and marched to the table, silencing everyone purely with her presence. She followed the steps too and shuffled through a few of her memories that were fine to show to the public. Afterward, she gestured at her mates and they followed suit. Then, they gathered close, exchanged a few words, and nodded.

“None of us noticed any unusual interference from the artifact,” the Nest Mother announced. “It seems to be doing exactly what it’s described to be doing. Let’s get this over with and clear everything up. We don’t have eternity for this meeting.”

“It might have worked for you, but nothing says it won’t react differently to my—Visenna? What are you…?” His forehead creased heavily as his female companion stepped past him.

The green-haired girl apprehensively approached the table, tentatively reaching out towards its surface with her fingers. A thoughtful expression on her face, she lightly tapped, then faintly grazed the arrays as if they were going to zap her. Taking a glance at Rhufija, then Althea, she hesitantly connected with the circuits.

Then, everyone watched a similar but different set of memories. She too was picked up from the pool of disciples and shared lots of experiences with Jellal that appeared to be as positive as Althea’s. The scenes varied, of course, but the meaning was the same. It was a good time.

But, while those parts were fairly distinctive to the lady named Visenna, the scenes that followed couldn’t be called so.

An eerily familiar memory played from an arrival at an extremely recognizable nest. It was the same one they had seen Althea arrive in with her mentor just minutes ago. From that point, it did feel like a mirror copy of that day, but the little comments and thoughts from the other female made them fairly authentic.

Nevertheless, she visited the very same high spot, went through the very same stalls, accepting the gifts gladly—out of which some she wore right at the moment, making Asterios realize just where he had seen the robe she had on—and ended up back up at the overlook too. A word-for-word monologue took place, with the only divergent elements being her responses, leading to a separate finale, with the scale changing hands. A memory of a pleasant diner followed, joined by some flashes of happy journeys afterward as the duo traveled as a pair, but riddled with slightly less effort from the mentor’s side regarding a few aspects, including the social one.

When Visenna took her hand back, glancing Althea’s way once more with an unreadable expression, the auditorium was completely silent.

At least until Grea threw her arms into the air.

“Fucking really?” the demon woman cried out in disbelief. “The exact same fucking script, man? You couldn’t even have bothered to fucking alter it a little? I don’t think there’s another like you anywhere the sapient life reaches. Bleh. I’ve never met someone like you. Ugh. Fuck, I put more effort into switching things up while ripping off homework back in my school years. Not cool, dude, not cool.”

While she shook her head, Althea directed a rueful smile at the lady, who tried to smile back a bit, something imperceptible passing between the two.

“What was it about showing one’s true colors, huh?” Rusilthea snorted under her nose.

“It’s just as I told you.” Jellal turned his face aside somewhat haughtily. “An almost perfect copy. If it was me—”

“Oh, yeah?” Phatru interrupted him, setting her fists against her hips. “So that was all fake, wasn’t it? A manufactured illusion? Well, if that’s true, then the owner of those memories will obviously confirm that, no? Lady Visenna, would you mind?”

Before the female Lesser Dragon could respond, he waved his hand dismissively. “We’ve been strongly sidetracked from the main topic of the gathering, first by the unexpected True Dragon appearance, now by this. We should have been focusing on Althea’s suitability to mentor anyone, not mine and my mate’s private lives.”

“My qualifications to teach are questioned, is that right?” Althea hummed ponderingly, her lips assuming a more jovial curve as she kept eye contact with his companion. “I think I have just the idea of how to prove which one of us is better suited to be a mentor.”