Free Web NovelChapter 34: 34. The Second Summon
Nathan woke before the sun rose, genuinely rested, the kind of deep recovery that no healing potion could replicate. His muscles were loose. His mind was clear and the cumulative exhaustion of the past week had receded to a distant ache, manageable and familiar.
Today. It had to be today.
He sat up slowly, careful not to disturb Lucy, who was still curled on her side of the bed, one arm draped over her star-shaped nightlight. Mirko was already awake...she was always awake before him, watching from the pillow with pink eyes that reflected the pale pre-dawn light.
’Today, Master?’
"Today."
’You’re certain.’
"I’m Level 24. One level to go. The Tower of Shallow Depths is three floors of F-Rank nothing. I could clear it in my sleep." He swung his legs off the bed. "I’m not waiting another day."
Mirko hopped onto his shoulder as he stood. ’Good. I was prepared to be extremely disappointed if you suggested delaying again.’
"Would you have composed another song about it?"
’I already did. The working title was "Ode to a Master Who Refuses to Achieve His Destiny." Very dramatic. Lots of minor chords.’
"Please never sing it."
’i make No promises!’
---
Breakfast was quiet. Lucy was still asleep... school didn’t start for another two hours, so Nathan left a plate of toast covered with a cloth on the table and a note: Back soon. Don’t burn anything.
The morning air was cool and grey. The industrial district lay in the opposite direction from the TCA headquarters, a sprawl of warehouses and dormant factories that had been gradually abandoned as the city grew inward toward the Towers. The Tower of Shallow Depths was tucked between a closed-down textile mill and a lot overgrown with weeds.
It was, by every metric, unremarkable. Three floors. F-Rank. The registry described its monsters as "Stone Toads: slow, durable, low threat." No unique mechanics. No boss encounters. No leaderboards. It was the kind of Tower that new Climbers used for their first solo runs, the kind that experienced Climbers forgot existed.
Nathan stepped through the entrance. The portal swallowed him without ceremony.
---
The Tower of Shallow Depths was a series of damp underground chambers connected by sloping tunnels. The walls were rough limestone, streaked with mineral deposits and the occasional glow of bioluminescent moss. The air smelled of wet stone and stagnant water.
The first Stone Toad materialized from a shallow pool near the entrance. It was the size of a large dog, its body a lump of grey-brown hide covered in rocky protrusions. Its eyes were dull and unblinking. It croaked once and lunged.
Nathan sidestepped. [Hunter’s Insight] mapped the creature’s weak points: the joints where its rocky armor thinned, the soft tissue beneath its jaw, the gap behind its eyes where its skull was thinnest. [Mana Arrow] at close range punched through the jaw and into the brain. The toad dissolved.
[Ding! XP Gained!]
He moved on.
Floor 1 held twelve toads. Floor 2 held nine. Floor 3 held six... plus a larger variant, a Stone Toad Alpha, its hide thick enough to deflect a standard [Mana Arrow]. Nathan switched to [Focus Shot], charged for fifteen seconds, and punched through its skull in a single detonation of blue-white light.
The Alpha dissolved. The chamber fell silent.
[Ding! Tower of Shallow Depths Cleared!]
[Time: 23 minutes 11 seconds.]
[Overall Clear Rank: A]
Then, the notification he’d been waiting for:
[Ding! Level Up!]
[Level 25 Reached!]
And immediately after:
[Ding! Condition 1 Met: Level 25.]
[Second Summon: Unlocked.]
Nathan stared at the words. The damp cave air pressed against his skin. Somewhere in the distance, water dripped from a stalactite into a pool. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.
"Mirko."
She materialized beside him, shifting directly to humanoid form. Her expression was uncharacteristically serious. "You’ve done it."
"We’ve done it." He met her pink eyes. "Ready to meet your new colleague?"
"I am ready to be an excellent senior."
"That’s not what I asked."
"It is what I answered."
---
Nathan didn’t summon inside the Tower. He wanted control... a quiet location, no witnesses, no chance of interruption. He extracted and walked toward the industrial district’s eastern edge, where the abandoned warehouses gave way to empty lots and chain-link fences. The sun was fully up now, pale gold through the morning haze. Somewhere in the distance, a factory whistle blew.
He found a space between two derelict buildings... a narrow alley that opened into a small, enclosed yard, its concrete cracked and overgrown with weeds. No windows overlooked it. No foot traffic passed nearby. It was as private as the city got.
Mirko stood guard at the alley’s entrance, sword drawn, her presence a silent deterrent. Nathan stepped into the yard’s center and opened the system interface.
[Second Summon Available. Proceed?]
"Yes."
The summoning circle erupted.
Golden and white light flooded the yard, brighter than Nathan remembered, bright enough to cast sharp shadows against the walls. The magical pressure was immense... heavier than Mirko’s summoning, or perhaps it only felt that way because he was strong enough now to perceive what he’d missed before. Runic symbols spiraled through the air, ancient and unreadable. The wind picked up, swirling loose debris and dead leaves in a vortex around the circle’s edge.
And then... something else.
The shadows in the alley stretched toward the circle. Not like Mirko’s wind-and-petals transformation. This was darker. Quieter. The shadows didn’t surge; they seeped. Like ink bleeding through paper. Like night finding cracks in daylight.
The golden light crested. The wind died. The runes faded.
A small form sat at the circle’s center.
A bunny.
Her fur was black... the color of charcoal, the color of a moonless sky. Around her eyes, rings of pure white fur formed a mask-like pattern: elegant, striking, almost theatrical. Like war paint.
She blinked. Her eyes were deep black too, and they assessed Nathan with cool, quiet intelligence. No fear. No uncertainty. Just observation. freewebnovel.cσ๓
[Ding! Second Summon Complete!]
[New Summon Acquired!]
[Name: Undesignated]
[Race: Demi-Beast (Bunny)]
[Level: 1]
[Grade: F-Rank (Evolvable)]
[Class: Undecided]
[Summon Skills:]
· [Shadow Meld] Briefly merge with shadows, becoming partially incorporeal. Duration scales with level.
· [Silent Step] Eliminates sound from movement. Passive ability.
· [Weak Point Sense] Instinctively identifies structural vulnerabilities in targets.
[Bunny Girls Summon slots: 2/5.]
Nathan crouched down. The black bunny didn’t flinch or retreat. She simply watched him with those black eyes, waiting.
"Can you understand me?"
A pause. Then, through the mental link, a voice emerged... quieter than Mirko’s, softer, each word placed with deliberate care: ’Yes. You are my summoner. I understand.’
The voice was calm. Controlled. There was no exuberance, no dramatic declaration. Just a statement of fact, as if she’d assessed the situation and reached the only logical conclusion.
"Do you have a name?"
’I... do not. Not yet.’
Nathan studied her. The black fur. The white mask around her eyes. The quiet, watchful presence that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. She reminded him of something... a shadow waiting to move. A blade still in its sheath.
"Kuro," he said. "Your name will be Kuro."
The black bunny was silent for a moment.
’Kuro.’ She seemed to test the name, tasting its weight. ’That is acceptable.’
From the alley entrance, Mirko’s voice rang out. "Acceptable? That’s all? He gives you a name and you say ’acceptable’?"
Kuro’s pale grey eyes shifted toward the sound. Mirko was striding toward them, sword sheathed, her expression caught somewhere between indignation and fascination.
"When Master named me," Mirko continued, "I was appropriately grateful. I expressed enthusiasm. I..."
’You are loud,’ Kuro observed.
Mirko stopped mid-stride. "I am enthusiastic."
’You are loud.’
Nathan pressed his knuckles against his mouth to keep from laughing. Mirko’s ears flattened. "I will have you know," she said, drawing herself up to her full height, "that I am your senior. The first summon. A Knight-class warrior. I have fought goblins and Crawlers and Dread Knights and a Shadow Wyrm. I have been headbutting things for you since before you existed."
Kuro tilted her head. ’What is a senior?’
"A mentor. A guide. Someone who has more experience and provides wisdom and direction to newer, less experienced summons who should probably show more respect..."
’You are making this up.’
"I am not!"
’Your ears are twitching. That indicates deception.’
Mirko’s hands flew to her ears. "They are not!" But They were. She crossed her arms. "Master. Tell her I am the senior."
Nathan held up both hands. "I’m staying out of this."
’A wise decision, Summoner’ Kuro observed.
"Traitor, big head" Mirko muttered.
---
The apartment was quiet when Nathan returned. Lucy was still at school... her handwriting on the note he’d left was now accompanied by a response scrawled beneath it: I won’t burn anything. I’m not a disaster. Also we’re out of bread.
Nathan sat at the table. Mirko shifted to humanoid form and leaned against the counter, arms folded. Kuro... still in bunny form.... explored the apartment with silent, methodical precision. [Silent Step] made her movements ghostly. She examined the kitchen corner, the bathroom door, the single bed with its rumpled blankets and Lucy’s star-shaped nightlight still on the pillow. She didn’t comment. She simply observed.
Nathan pulled up her status panel again.
[Summon: Kuro]
[Race: Demi-Beast (Bunny)]
[Level: 1]
[Grade: F-Rank (Evolvable)]
[Class: Undecided]
[Skills:]
· [Shadow Meld] Briefly merge with shadows, becoming partially incorporeal.
· [Silent Step] Eliminates sound from movement. Passive ability.
· [Weak Point Sense] Instinctively identifies structural vulnerabilities in targets.
Three starting skills, just like Mirko had. The system’s internal logic was consistent, and that consistency was reassuring. [Shadow Meld] was clearly the foundation for a class we all know and love... mobility, evasion, the ability to strike from unexpected angles. [Silent Step] was utility that would only grow more valuable as she leveled. And [Weak Point Sense]... that synergized with his own [Hunter’s Insight] in ways that made his gamer brain sit up and pay attention.
"Mirko."
"Hm?"
"Your [Headbutt] gave you a crit chance. My [Hunter’s Insight] identifies weak points. Kuro’s [Weak Point Sense] does the same thing passively, from Level 1. If we combine all three..."
"Then nothing survives our focus fire," Mirko finished. Her earlier indignation had faded; she was in tactical mode now. "Assuming the new one can keep up."
’I will keep up,’ Kuro said. She’d finished her survey of the apartment and was sitting near the foot of the bed, her black eyes fixed on Nathan. ’What is the objective?’
"Nine days until the duel," Nathan said. "You need to reach Level 10 before then. That’s the evolution threshold. At Level 10, you’ll evolve to E-Rank, gain humanoid form, and I can assign you a class." He pulled up the class options the system had already generated. "Class choices that the system would show us when you reach there."
Mirko pushed off the counter and walked over to her. "You’ll need training. Nine levels in nine days isn’t impossible, Master and I did it in less time but you’ll be starting from Level 1. I’ll assist." She paused. "As your senior."
Kuro’s Black eyes flicked up to meet hers. ’If I agree to call you senior, will you stop talking about it?’
"Absolutely not."
’Then what incentive do I have?’
"The incentive..." Mirko said, crouching down to the bunny’s eye level, "...is that I know what I’m doing. I’ve fought beside Master since the Tutorial Realm. I’ve blocked strikes from a Dread Knight. I’ve shattered a Shadow Wyrm. If you listen to me, you’ll survive long enough to become just like me."
Kuro was silent for a long moment. Then: ’That was almost impressive.’
"Almost?"
’I said what I said.’
Nathan rubbed his temples. "You two are going to be exhausting."
’She started it,’ they said in unison... Mirko aloud, Kuro through the link.
Then they looked at each other. Mirko’s ears twitched. Kuro’s eyes flickered with something that might, in another universe, have been amusement.
---
Evening fell. Lucy returned from school, burst through the door, and stopped dead at the sight of two bunnies on the bed instead of one.
"No way," she breathed. "No way. You got another one?"
"Her name is Kuro," Nathan said. "She’s new. Be gentle with her."
Lucy approached slowly, her eyes wide. Kuro watched her with calm assessment. "She’s black," Lucy said. "With white around her eyes. Like a mask. Like a little ninja bunny."
’The small human is perceptive,’ Kuro observed.
"She’s also going to try to hug you," Nathan added.
"She’s also going to..." Lucy scooped Kuro up before he could finish. The black bunny went rigid for a moment, then relaxed, her pale grey eyes meeting Nathan’s with an expression that clearly communicated: This is happening. I will tolerate it.
Mirko hopped onto Lucy’s shoulder, clearly pleased to not be the sole target of affection. ’You get used to the hugging,’ she advised Kuro through the link. ’The tiny human is relentless but well-intentioned.’
’Noted.’
---
Later, with Lucy asleep on her side of the bed... one hand resting gently on Kuro’s dark fur, the other tucked under her pillow—Nathan sat at the table and opened his status panel.
[Name: Nathan Cross]
[Class: Archer]
[Level: 25]
[Summons:]
· Mirko: Knight (E-Rank, Evolvable)
· Kuro: Undecided (F-Rank, Evolvable)
[Second Summon: Complete.]
[Additional Summons: Conditions to be determined.]
[Days Until Duel: 9.]
Nine days. Nine levels. One evolution. If he could get Kuro to Level 10 before the duel, she could evolve and claim the Shadow Assassin class. The timing would be tight... maybe too tight. But if she only reached Level 7 or 8, she could still debut in the duel, and the combat itself might provide the experience needed to push her across the threshold. Either way, Derek Stone and his expensive mercenary would face something they never saw coming.
Nathan looked at the two bunnies... Mirko green and familiar, Kuro black and new... curled on the bed beside his sleeping sister. The star-shaped nightlight cast soft shadows across their fur. One was a Knight who’d stood between him and death more times than he could count. The other was something new who spoke in quiet certainties and tolerated hugs with a patient dignity.
He closed the panel. Tomorrow, the grind resumed, not for himself this time, but for Kuro. Nine days to turn a Level 1 bunny into a weapon capable of challenging a Level 51 Berserker. It was absurd. It was impossible. It was exactly the kind of challenge Nathan Cross had built his new life around.
"Get some sleep," he said, crossing to the bed and settling onto his side. "Tomorrow, we start training."
’Yes, Master,’ Mirko said.
’Understood,’ Kuro said.
Nathan closed his eyes. Outside, the city hummed with its nightly rhythm... Towers gleaming in the distance, Climbers chasing glory or survival or both. Inside, in a cramped studio apartment, a young man from another world lay beside his sister and his two summons, and for the first time in days, the weight on his shoulders felt almost manageable.
