Rise of the Weakest Summoner

“Do you see any more of those invisible barriers, my Lord?” Selene asked as they peered into the spacious room.

Asterios shook his head. “There are none as far as I’m aware. That thing emits powerful energy though that in itself blurs the air in my vision.”

“It must be dangerous, then.” Miria watched the floating orb anxiously. “Maybe we should really think about these circuits? Perhaps disrupting them will cut off its power or something.”

“Do we have any idea about what it is?” Tina tilted her head. “A spiritual energy core like in Bryn’s realm? Save for the part where it comes from a Dragon?”

“Its function is similar, yet it’s not the same,” Abyss answered, capturing their attention. “This isn’t a spiritual reactor that produces mana on its own, nor is it a core like those you find in dungeons.”

“What is it, then?” Althea wondered out loud. “Some sort of a mana-infused device or activator?”

“The simplest explanation would be a cluster of spiritual energy condensed so tightly that it attains a physical form,” the mysterious lady shared. “It’s a bundle of finite energy that came from him. It’s considerable enough to sustain whatever this place’s role is for another millennium or two, judging loosely.”

“Great. Let’s just wait a little longer and your realm will open on its own.” Tina chuckled lightly and others smirked at her little quip. “Well, for you it might actually be possible, but I don’t think we are going to last that long. In any way, that means he has to be planning on coming back to resupply this cluster, right?”

“I would assume so.” Abyss nodded. “He wouldn’t let things just return to normal like this. And he wouldn’t count on me forgetting about my creation. He had to know that I would be keeping an eye on it till the end of my time.”

“Or all of this was just a ruse to bid him more time.” Althea rubbed her chin, attracting all the eyes. “He doesn’t have to come back and charge this orb again if he expects to have dealt with you before the energy is completely spent.”

A brief silence fell onto them as everyone gave that thought a moment to ruminate.

“That… might not be incorrect,” the scholarly woman of considerable power agreed. “While I prided myself in my academic approach, that didn’t mean I was significantly weaker than him, who was focusing almost completely on his personal growth. And that last part was clearly noticeable. It would be a struggle to best me on the day we met, but now…”

“He might have gotten stronger,” Asterios finished for her. “Enough to feel confident about taking you down for real if he truly hated your element as much as you implied he did. In the end, from his perspective, would it be sufficient to just inconvenience the one you despise? I think Althea might be right here. This was just a single step meant to throw you off a little.”

“But wouldn’t Abyss grow in this time too?” Miria pondered out loud while tapping her lips.

“If he was seriously focusing on strength and power, he might have expected to outgrow her, who has a tendency to wander around and examine things. No offense.” Tina inclined her head towards Abyss. “A concentrated approach is almost always better at reaching the end goal than spreading yourself horizontally.”

“None taken. Your words are wise and right.” The person in question responded with the same, nodding respectfully. “I certainly wasted a few decades at the very least shortly after all of that had gone down.”

“Aren’t you in danger, then?” Silvia glanced at her.

“At this exact minute, I might as well be.” Abyss looked at the bright orb. “But I dare to presume he didn’t calculate me taking this realm back under my wing into his schemes. And, one more fairly unexpected variable I have randomly stumbled on.”

“Which is?” Asterios asked as she directed her hypnotizing eyes at him.

“A chance to study a True Dragon’s development from up close. One of a kind amongst the whole universe too, most likely.” The most deceptive and tiniest hint of a curl at the edge of her lips flashed in front of him before it was instantly gone. “I have learned much by stalking you, as your rather wordy mate would describe it, weaving lots of that knowledge into my personal advancement in many areas. And I hope to continue that for the foreseeable future.”

“Well, all in all, it’s not like he is going to come back anytime soon so we still have time to worry about that,” Selene commented. “We should focus on the issue in front of us, then start plotting on how to face the powerful enemy who might come after our just as amazing friend. Though, I wonder if insignificant ants such as ourselves would even matter in the grand scheme of things.”

“Do not belittle yourselves that much,” the god-like woman rebuked her. “I think you are still unaware of the potential you wield. Perhaps after you conquer that peaceful realm of the one you call your master you shall all finally open your eyes to it. Nevertheless, there are ways to weaken him. Just like he has weakened me. We are not invincible.”

Asterios could only rub his eyes at that. He just hoped her speech wouldn’t give the girls any weird ideas. They had already put him on a quite serious pedestal as a ruler of his own territory. Alongside them, of course.

But, considering the smiles and sparkling eyes aimed his way, his hopes were rather weak.

“So, what are our options?” He tried to steer their brilliant minds towards something slightly more productive. “I assume we can’t just smash it into pieces and be done with it?”

“A sturdy Dragon like you might have a chance to survive the tremendous blast of released spiritual energy that would turn the area the size of about five Glimmervales into a steaming crater, but I’m uncertain about your mates.” Abyss studied him as if she really was giving his jesting a serious thought.

“Let’s… not do that.” Tina giggled meekly.

“Agreed.” Silvia supported that notion.

“All the other choices require a closer study of this energy cluster,” the dark-skinned goddess informed them. “It’s nowhere near fragile, but any actions should be deeply considered before being taken. I would advise your shadowy friend to keep his distance just in case. I should be able to deal with the intense radiation this sphere releases, but it might do him harm from prolonged exposition.”

“You heard the specialist, Umbra.” Asterios turned to his precious familiar. “I apologize, but I’ll need you to stay away this time. I can tell this makes even Abyss a bit tense.”

“As you wish.” The dark butler bowed politely. “I’ll remain close to the entrance and await further orders. Albeit, I would like to request permission to act in the happenstance of an emergency according to my own judgment.”

“Of course!” Miria beamed at him. “Master would never prevent you from helping out, right?”

They all nodded in unison and faced the orb. Throwing one more glance around to check for any traps hidden in plain sight, Asterios carefully approached the center of the chamber. The glowing lines headed straight for the circular depiction around it so perhaps that tidbit was of some importance.

If they could somehow severe the invisible connection between the circuits and this packed clump of mana—

A stunning wave of energy surged out of the middle, stopping everyone in place and interrupting Ast’s thoughts. They stood their ground ready and waited. 

Ten seconds passed, and nothing happened.

Thirty seconds passed, and there was no follow-up.

A full minute passed, and the floating ball was still casually hanging out in the air.

Exchanging looks with the ladies, Asterios made another step—

The pressure exploded once more, this time in the form of a continuous assault instead of a single blast. Their shoes squeaked against the floor as all of them save for Abyss were pushed back, with Tina losing her footing and falling onto her butt, cushioned by her always-present familiar. However, the attack continued, and it was accompanied by a shrieking noise that sounded awfully like a muffled and jumbled screaming of thousands of people.

Just as suddenly as it began, it all stopped, leaving Asterios and the ladies slightly reeling and wincing. The sphere lost a bit of its glow, gradually turning darker and darker at a slow pace.

“Did we force it to turn off due to potential endangerment?” Selene asked as she straightened her posture.

“No, it’s not possible to just disable and enable an active mana cluster. It must be—”

Unfortunately, Abyss didn’t get to finish her sentence as the collection of spiritual energy flashed with renewed intensity and power surged out of it. A few pained gasps and yelps broke out of the girls’ lips as they hastily covered their eyes, the blindfolds not being enough to filter out the invasive light. But, even their flesh wasn’t enough as the violent rays penetrated through it with ease, turning their limbs into a diagram of blood vessels and bone.

Additionally, a quiet sizzling noise filled the room.

Asterios acted on pure instinct, Abyss’ earlier words still ringing in his head. He threw himself in front of everyone and initiated his shift. He had never felt himself change so quickly, and if any of them were capable of witnessing it at that moment, they would have surely been amazed.

Yet, the circumstances didn’t allow for that and he appeared before them in his full, towering glory. With one swipe of his tail, well-coordinated with his front legs, Asterios gathered everyone underneath him while dropping onto his side and directing his back towards the fierce glow. Blocking it out almost completely, he also shaded his beloved mates and one important friend with his wing from above.

As a bigger shade fell upon them, the girls soon recollected themselves and uncovered their eyes to see what was going on. To their utter disappointment, the attack hadn’t ended, it was just Asterios protecting them from the worst of it. The quieter now screeching noise could still be heard behind his bulky frame.

“Ast!” Silvia was the first one to call out to him, running up to his snout and gently grazing it with her palm. “Are you okay?”

His draconic lips twisted ferociously as a low growl escaped his maw. “Just fine… Stay here and don’t peek out…”

They could all tell he was in pain and it wasn’t anything to scoff at.

“Master!” Miria arrived at Silvia’s side with a worried expression. “I can hear the sizzling! And there’s smoke rising from your frame!”

“It’s all good…” He tried to chuckle amidst the suffering. “I’m regenerating as quickly as it’s damaging my scales and flesh…”

The ladies were already racking their brains on how to save him from this agony. Tina did what she could in the meanwhile, drawing out everything she had to splash his heated body with a stream of cold water all over. It certainly helped a tiny bit, but the liquid evaporated in a blink, not able to survive the impossible onslaught.

They spoke to him more, but he had a hard time registering their words, perhaps the pain making them appear distant. In the next second, it all disappeared as he was unexpectedly cut off.

 

※ ※ ※

 

Asterios opened his eyes with a start, finding himself gazing into an all-natural wooden ceiling sloping towards the center. For a moment there, he wondered if everything had been a dream, but seeing the face of a familiar Dryad slide into his vision from above, dispelled that notion. Tia’s smile was way too sad for that to be true as she played with his hair.

“What happened?” He rubbed his forehead. “Don’t tell me, we all died?”

A light giggle escaped her lips. “No, silly. I’m sorry for doing this without asking first, but I pulled your consciousness into your Ancestral Plane to sever the connection between your mind and body. As we speak, you are still lying out there and shielding your precious family from harm. I just saved you unnecessary suffering. I hope you can forgive me for separating you from your beloved.”

Sighing softly, he unhurriedly sat up next to her, finding them both on the floor in front of Tia’s charming throne as she had been supporting his head on her lap while resting her back against it.

“There’s nothing to forgive.” Asterios gratefully lowered his head. “But, I’m sure we both are aware that I can’t just stay here forever while others are in danger.”

“Of course.” Tia nodded in agreement. “However, it should be easier to think of a solution to our troubles without your mind being bogged down by the agony of having your scales and tissue burned, regenerated, and burned again in a loop.”

“You are right. Thank you.” He smiled warmly. “I don’t know what to do besides running away for now. Perhaps that’s our best option. Maybe we missed something on our way here.”

“I wouldn’t be so hasty in giving up yet.” She smiled back delicately. “There is a chance that I might help you out a little if we work together.”

“You are already helping me a lot, Tia,” Asterios honestly admitted. “If not for you, I wouldn’t be able to hold out for this long. Sure, this heat would most likely not bring me to a critical state in hours or maybe days thanks to my draconic heritages, but no Dragon fixes its wounds at such an inconceivable speed.”

“That’s all you. Mostly.” The charming Dryad giggled again. “You are making use of the boons that having me inside you offer to this lucky host of mine. My coaching and advice certainly aided this, including our brief lessons and practice sessions, but I’m not actively managing this process. If you got critically wounded and been left on the verge of death? Possibly.”

He studied her serene yet somewhat playful face for a while, quite sure she was just permanently emanating that cheerfully mischievous aura all the time. It was close to speaking with a wise, experienced lady and an upbeat, humorous girl at the same time. With most of his companions, he could more or less understand which side they leaned on more, but Tia’s case was a tough nut to crack and place.

Taking a deep breath, Asterios stretched his arms over his head. “Alright. I’ll listen to your valuable wisdom. How can we overcome this difficulty we have found ourselves in?”

She let out a tinkling laugh. “Wisdom? It’s nothing as grand as that, I assure you. If you are seeking wisdom, you should speak with Althea. No, this energy that’s being a little mean to you simply falls under one of the domains I’m experienced in.”

That piqued his curiosity. “How so?”

“Simply speaking, it’s sunlight.” Tia held her hand between them with her palm up and created an illusion of a miniature sun with bright yellow pollen. “I was wondering about the details behind our enemy’s affinity and how it conflicts with Abyss’ darkness. She told us that it was light, but there are many kinds of light, just as there are many kinds of darkness, namely shadows, pure void, and so on.”

She made the image spin and emit faint waves outside in a pulsing manner.

“This condensed cluster of his mana answered that question the moment you stepped into the chamber,” the beautiful Dryad continued. “Your real body is currently getting scorched by an actual artificial sun. Although, you must have noticed that it wasn’t created with a benign method.”

“The screams.” Asterios squeezed his knee.

“Correct.” She sighed wistfully. “I do not know the details, but I can tell that a great sacrifice has been made for it to become what it is today. I dare not to speculate and I would advise you not to either. We don’t have a need for these dark thoughts. You can’t change the past.”

As she dismissed the pollen and reached out to caress his cheek cordially, he met her glowing green eyes. “But I can still change the future.”

“I’m glad we are of the same mind.” Tia grinned at him joyfully. “We have people who we want to protect and whose wellbeing we want to secure. Shall we make sure their futures have a chance to live on?”

“I’m listening.” Asterios gave her all his attention.

“It’s nothing that complex. You don’t need to become so serious.” She chuckled quietly, taking her palm away and placing it atop his hand over his knee. “All we need to do is to use your body as a siphon and absorb all the sunlight into your third source. Their affinities align well so the spiritual energy should flow in freely in a similar way to how your Dragon’s Heart took in the power of that red-scaled female who had lost her life at your hands.”

“But since I have completely zero experience with such a thing, that’s where you come in,” he added after her.

“Handsome and smart. It’s a mystery how more ladies don’t turn their heads after you.” The teasing girl winked at him impishly, making Ast’s cheeks warm up a tiny bit. “As I’m deeply rooted into that green source of yours, I can serve as a funnel, a kind of a guide for the natural forces. You handle the intake, I handle the distribution so it doesn’t damage your circuits and the source itself.”

“Sounds good.” Asterios nodded eagerly. “As long as you think that we are able to absorb all of it without making it worse for everyone else outside, I’m in. What do we need to do?”

“First off, this will require a deeper connection between our essences, energies, souls, or existences, whatever you would like to call it. Thankfully, in this spiritual realm of yours, we can take physical form, for lack of a better word, which makes it much easier to achieve. We’ve already made use of that a few times in the past.” Her gaze roamed over his face.

“Ah. I see.” He recalled those times Tia had helped him out in a troublesome situation or two. “Like the kiss we shared in the dungeon.”

“Yes, but no.” She giggled, making him slightly confused. “This will need to reach deeper.”

“Deeper as in how?” Asterios frowned a tad.

“Well, I already have myself rather deep within you, so it’s just a matter of you putting yourself fairly deep within me.” The sensual Dryad softly nibbled on her bottom lip.

The true meaning of her words did not escape Asterios for long.

“Oh. You mean like that.” He paused briefly.

She noticed his hesitation. “Do you find the prospect of embracing this body of mine displeasing?”

“No! Definitely not. It’s just…” A groan escaped Ast’s throat as he rubbed his face with both hands. “I just hoped to have found a way to give you back a real body before the possibility of taking any further steps in our sudden bond that has been pretty much forced on you by the circumstances while we get to know each other better in the meantime. You deserve this much at the very least.”

“That’s so sweet of you.” Tia scooted closer and pulled his palms away to grace him with a hearty smile. “You don’t need to concern yourself this much with the concept of reality, however. This here feels real enough. I’m glad though. I was worried my appearance might have been the problem.”

“Gods, no. Wander a little bit closer to the hotter lands of Kraedorion and you’ll find plenty of females with skin tones similar to yours. The mesmerizing patterns adorning your body are just a fascinating bonus.” Asterios laughed openly. “I already know how real you feel in touch. And how the others feel about it.”

“Looks like our secret conversations have been discovered.” She giggled playfully and stood up.

He watched her saunter towards the wooden throne next to them with a truly passionate step, the vines and leaves covering her modesty gradually retreating. As she reached the majestic seat, she turned around to face him in all her light brown splendor. With a knowing smile, she sat down like the dignified ruler of this space that she was and crossed her legs over.

“So, what will it be?” Tia rested her head against her fist. “Are you finally going to conquer this Dryad of yours fully or not, Dragon Emperor?”

And just like that, Asterios was placed in front of an incredibly important decision.