Two portals opened up and from them came his two summons Fenrir and Cerbe.
Thud!
The moment their presence became recognized, the pressure on Damien multiplied but having been with them all along, he was able to stand his ground.
“You all better rein in those absurd pressures you’re emitting. Save it for when I finally advance as well.” Damien clicked his tongue.
Obediently, the two summons controlled the pressure they were exuding so it didn’t affect Damien that much.
He nodded with a smile as added. “You can save it for later. I’ll meet up with you both soon enough. Or not…” His reason for the doubt at the end was that these two creatures could advance ranks at any time. All they needed was two more Grade Five essence cores or a full Grade Five mana beast each.
“As for me, a few more as well and I’ll advance,” Damien noted with a slight grin.
If there was one thing Damien had observed about himself during his growth, it was that he was closer to Grade Five than he’d actually believed.
How did he know this? By slaying one.
Partly. It was thanks to the great weapon of his uncle he’d stumbled upon after misplacing it months ago. It was the perfect killing machine in such a place crawling with both mana beasts of different sizes and shapes as well as demons of different sorts and ranks.
While the sword had played a part in his victory against the Grade Five mana beast he’d slain, he also had a major role that couldn’t be ignored. His honed battle skills and wits, his quick reaction speeds, and his ability to adapt to whatever situation he found himself in.
Damien smiled as he remembered how he’d dealt with the beast, ending its life by stabbing its throat from underneath it.
He turned to the sword he’d found once again. “You’re one sharp piece of precious metal.”
The weapon had pierced through the mana beast like a hot knife through butter. There was no resistance whatsoever when Damien stabbed through the creature’s thick-scaled skin.
As all three summons gathered around Damien with Luton on his head, Damien prepared to do something he had been pushing back for a while.
A few days back, he’d received a notification after slaying a couple of demons. The two hundred demons he needed to kill before he was able to summon another beast had been filled up but Damien chose not to summon it at that moment.
Now that he had nothing else to do, Damien felt it was the right time to summon it.
But first, there was one thing he needed to check. “Status.” He muttered and the panel appeared less than a second later.
««««««••••••»»»»»»
Name: Damien Terrace
Race: Human
Level: 39
Exp: 1650/1770
Talent: E-Rank Summoner
Life Force: 6100/6300
Magic Essence: 870/1020
Strength: 64 Agility: 61
Stamina: 64 Endurance: 64
Intelligence: 59
••••••••••
Skill: SSS-Ranked Summons
Subskills:-
Pact of Summons
Essence Devourer
Sensory Link
Essence Saving Mode
••••••••••
Available summons: 3
««««««••••••»»»»»»
“Well, I think it was worth it. Every bit of it so far.” Damien wore a satisfied smirk. His essence reserves had finally crossed the 1,000-unit threshold.
It was a small achievement considering he could get dozens of times more just by converting his life force but the fact that he could now hold more essence in his primary essence core was a thing of joy for him.
“Now, let’s look forward to what level 40 will offer. Definitely a jump in all aspects.” Damien murmured. He suspected that level would be the benchmark he needed to be classified as a Grade Five or in human ranks, a Gold Ranked Dunter or Mage, whichever path he chose to go down.
Still, Damien knew better than to be intoxicated by his anticipation. There were far more powerful beasts and demons that roamed this forest and he had to be cautious. He’d been lucky with the Pegasus he stumbled upon last time. Next time might not be as graceful as the previous.
That’s why he needed as many summons as he could get. Strong ones at that. If he was fortunate enough to summon a Grade Four mana beast, Damien was sure he’d be rolling on the floor in excitement.
After storing his weapon inside of Luton, Damien turned to the open area around. “Here goes everything.” He said with a sigh as he prepared himself for the task in front of him.
“Convert half my life force to magic essence.” His request was mostly half as he knew it was just the perfect conversion. His summon couldn’t exhaust the magic essence he’d get after all.
«Converting 3,150 units of Life Force to Magic Essence…»
«+31,500 units of Magic Essence!
Damien dismissed the panels without a second to waste as he moved to the next thing on his agenda.
“Now, let’s try summoning a new beast,” Damien said, his voice filled with anticipation and excitement. He knew that at the very least, he would be getting another Grade Five mana beast. He had never gotten a beast weaker than he was and he believed this time wouldn’t be an exception.
«Summoning a Random Mythical Beast…»
«-11,000 units of Magic Essence!»
«Congratulations! You have summoned a Majestic Guardian, a Griffin!»
The portal in the sky didn’t fail to appear but this time, it was so high in the sky that Damien didn’t notice it at first. It was the majestic bird’s cry that drew his attention.
Booom!
Damien didn’t even see the creature descend from the sky and only heard the explosion of its descent. Smoke blew up all around and as Damien waved the dust away, he saw the mythical beast he’d summoned.
It was a mythical creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion, and the head, wings, and front talons of an eagle.
Kreeee…
There was a low cry from the Griffin as it stared at Damien who simply stood, unshaken by its presence. Then it noticed the other beasts present. Still, it ignored them and began walking toward its summoner.
Kreeeee…
There was another low cry from the beast and then its two-metre-sized body dropped to the ground seemingly urging Damien to do something.
Damien didn’t quite understand so he did what he understood. “Griffin’s Description please.” He requested the description of the mythical beast he’d just summoned.