The Journey Of A Summoner

“So… are you ready, little witch?”

Finally done vomiting into the ditch behind the inn, I nod and rinsing my mouth with a quick water spell.

“Uh… sorry kid. Didn’t realize you had an issue with eating Ember Boar… or, uh… meat in general.”

I try not to think about Porkchop and the other Ember Boars back home…

…nor about how my meal was the most delicious thing I’d eaten in years.

“Let’s head inside and go over our schedule for the week.”

We sit down at the nearest table.

“Alright, here's the plan. Breakfast, fly for seven hours, give the Pegasus three hours to rest, fly another seven, dinner, sleep for six, rinse and repeat. You can sleep for a few extra hours in the carriage.”

“...W-what ab-about you?”

Vincent replies with a dead look in his eyes. “Let’s just say… I’m used to not getting very much sleep.”

I get the feeling Vincent’s employer views him more like a workhorse than a person.

“We may have to be flexible with our schedule depending on the weather and how far apart different inns are, but we shouldn’t have any issues making it on time. It’ll be rough, but necessary. Any objections?”

I shake my head.

“Good. Now, during those three-hour breaks, I’m going to be training you.”

“…T-training?”

“Most new students will have had their summons for at least a year or two, plus some formal education in mana use. While I can’t promise to catch you up in just a week, I can at least give you a proper foundation to build off of.”

He scratches the back of his head. “Truth be told, I’ve never taught anyone before, so we’ll both be figuring things out as we go. That said, I’ve got a bit of a… unique perspective on how to best use mana, so I should be able to teach you a thing or two you wouldn’t pick up elsewhere.”

…

“Sound… alright?”

I nod.

…

“No… questions?”

I shake my head.

…

“You don’t really talk much, do ya, kid?”

I open my mouth to answer…

…but just end up quietly shaking my head.

“We’ll uh… try to work on that.”

Vincent stands up. “That’s enough yapping, let’s get going.”

I hurry after Vincent. The schedule sounds exhausting. But all the new knowledge awaiting me?

…I couldn’t be more excited!

***

Taking a small detour to stop off in a beautiful grassy field, we both step out of the carriage as the Pegasus begins to graze.

Vincent turns toward me with a guilty look. “So, uh, I’m kind of only just realizing now that all I keep in the carriage for food is jerky, which you can’t exactly eat, so, I was thinking maybe next time we pass a village, we stock up on—”

“Um… c-could you w-wait a few m-minutes?”

“Oh… uh, yeah. Sure.”

Sprinting as fast as I can, I take off toward a forest in the distance, Pudding bouncing after me.

Working as quickly as possible, I gather edible mushrooms, vegetables, seeds, and spices until my satchel is nearly full. Whenever I find a plant I’m unsure about, I feed a sample to Pudding. If his reaction matches the equivalent flora back home, I take it with me. If not, I leave it. Once I’ve gathered enough, I race back.

I duck inside the carriage and rummage through the luggage for some cooking supplies while Vincent sits nearby chewing on a strip of jerky.

“Oh, welcome ba—”

I quickly shut the door and set up over by a dry patch. With a flick of my wand, I light a fire and get straight to work. I rapidly chop ingredients, adding each at precisely the right moment and in exactly the right amount, all while using little bursts of magic to keep the fire at the perfect temperature. As soon as the stew finishes simmering, I lift the lid, letting its warm, savory aroma drift through the field before ladling two bowls.

Drawn by the smell, Vincent steps out of the carriage. “Huh… so that’s what you were up to. Smells good.”

Smiling, I hand him a bowl.

“Oh. I’m included? I already have food in the—”

“B-balanced meals are i-important.”

He lets out a small chuckle as he accepts the bowl. “You know what? I think I’m inclined to agree. Thanks, kid.”

Vincent sits down on a nearby rock. “I’ll admit, when you sprinted off toward the forest, I figured you just had to take a leak.”

Heat rushes to my face. I vigorously shake my head.

Vincent chuckles. “Alright, alright. I wasn’t accusing you of anything.”

He eats a spoonful, then lights up in pleasant surprise. “Wow… this is really impressive. Maybe if I could make meals this good, I wouldn’t be living off jerky all the time.

“Where does a young girl learn to scavenge and cook like this?”

I open my mouth to answer, only to realize it’d take forever to stumble and stutter my way through an explanation. I lower my gaze.

Vincent’s expression softens. “Uh… listen, kid. If we’re gonna train together, we’re going to have to be able to communicate.”

He scratches the back of his head. “I know I’m probably not the easiest guy to talk to, but I promise… I’m on your side.”

“I… h-hard for me to t-talk to n-new people.”

Vincent looks off in the distance. “…What if I told you I used to have the same problem?”

I can’t help but look up. Someone as confident and dependable as Vincent? Really?

“I wasn’t exactly the most social individual growing up… honestly, I’m still not.”

He meets my eyes again. “But if you take the right approach and are willing to work at it, I assure you it gets easier.”

…

Maybe… maybe I could overcome this too.

The thought fills me with a warm wave of hope.

“For what it’s worth,” Vincent continues, “I don’t think you actually have trouble speaking.”

I tilt my head.

“I think you have trouble speaking when you’re nervous.”

He points his spoon at me. “Despite everything those boys did to you, when you were focused on getting something important across instead of who you were talking to, you had no trouble talking to them. You were even the same with me a couple times too.”

Thinking back… he’s right.

How hadn’t I noticed that?

“How about this? Let’s postpone today’s training for a while and just get to know each other instead. You ask me a question, then I’ll ask one. Back and forth. Nice and simple. Just focus on what you want to say, remember to breathe, and take your time. I’ll happily wait as long as needed, no judgment whatsoever. Sound good?”

I nod.

“Alright, you go first, ask away.”

“W-well, w-w-w—”

“Again, no need to rush. Seriously. Take all the time you’d like.”

…

“Um… what brought you… out by my village?”

“Ah… uh… unfortunately that’s classified. We won’t count that one, you can ask something else.”

“...What do you… do for work?”

Vincent gives an awkward smile. “Also… classified.”

“H-how… do you know Granny—uh, Rosemary?”

“That’s… classified too.”

…

I lower my gaze, starting to get discouraged.

“Sorry, kid. I’m kind of blowing this, aren’t I? How about something a little more… basic?”

I think for a while until, finally...

“...W-w-what’s your… favorite spell?”

Vincent smirks. “Now that I can answer.”

He sets his bowl down, stands, and starts stepping away.

“Mist Walk.”

A plume of fog envelops him. Then…

He vanishes.

“Pretty neat, huh?”

I jump as Vincent’s voice suddenly comes from right behind me. I spin around—

Another puff of fog.

“Quite useful for getting around.”

I turn once more. Vincent’s back on the rock, eating as though he’d never moved.

“That’s so amazing!”

A faint, proud smile crosses his face. “Glad you like it.”

He shrugs. “Who knows? Maybe I can teach it to you one day.”

My eyes light up. “Really?!”

“Hey, do well enough in school, and I’ll happily teach you any spell I know.”

“You promise? No backsies?”

Without a word, Vincent holds out his pinky.

I gasp.

He’s invoking the sanctity of the pinky promise. He really means it!

I hurriedly hook my pinky around his, shaking it enthusiastically.

“Now, for my question… what’s your favorite spell?”

“That’s such a hard question! There are so many! I love the one I use to water my plants every morning, but maybe the one that lets me make fresh soil is more important? Then again, making a flame is so useful for being able to see in the dark or light a fire whenever I want. Aw man, but there’s yesterday too when I finally learned how to use wind magic to—”

Vincent suddenly bursts out laughing, and my heart sinks. I look down.

…I knew it. I said something weird again. This is exactly why I don’t—

“Kid.”

I look back up.

“You think if someone heard you speak just now they’d assume you have any problem talking to others? Sounds to me like if it’s something you're passionate about, the words come pretty easily.”

I…

I guess he’s right…

I guess I really did just blurt out a whole bunch of stuff… didn’t I?

Without even a single stutter.

I can’t help but beam upon the realization.

“That’s good. It’s good to have things you're passionate about. Maybe that’s the trick—finding something to get excited about, no matter who you’re talking to.”

Maybe…

Maybe that could really work.

“That being said… you did cheat a little.”

…I did?

“I only named one spell, meanwhile you got to list a whole bunch. Doesn’t seem very fair, now does it?”

Vincent stands up. “How about I show you a few more to even things out?”

“Really?! Can you?!”

“You bet, kid.”

Vincent pulls a gnarled clump of wood out of his jacket and sends a pulse of mana through it. The twisted mass unfurls, revealing itself to be his staff.

Vincent proceeds to demonstrate one incredible water spell after another. I never could’ve imagined water magic being used in so many different and inventive ways. By the time he finishes, we’ve long since abandoned taking proper turns.

Sometimes I ask questions. Sometimes he does. Sometimes answers lead to even more questions, and without realizing it we’ve gone completely off track. Before I know it, we’ve been talking for a couple hours. Despite having only met yesterday, speaking with Vincent… it already feels completely natural.

And if I was able to make progress with him this quickly…

…maybe I could do the same with other people too.

The thought fills me with so much hope I almost tear up. But I push through, continuing to chat with him almost as easily as I would with Granny.

“—And that’s why I can’t stand the cold anymore.”

I can’t help but giggle. “She sure seems like a handful.”

“Yeah. Well, co-workers. What can you do?”

“Honestly, having a rival sounds kind of fun… though I can’t help but wonder… right at the end there… do you think there’s any chance she said that to you because she actually—”

“Neigh!”

We both turn toward the Pegasus, who has slowed to a lazy graze.

Vincent smiles. “Guess time really flew by, huh? We should probably squeeze in at least a little training before they’re finished eating… So—what do you say? Feel comfortable enough with me now?”

“Of course I do!”

I quickly grab the pot and feed Pudding the remaining stew before rinsing everything and putting it away. I then hurry over to Vincent.

“Okay, let’s talk about the basics of summoning.”

It takes a bit of practice, but with Vincent’s help, I learn how to smoothly de-summon and summon Pudding. Interestingly, it seems that when de-summoned, your summon’s soul latches onto yours, entering a dormant state free of the need for food, water, or sleep. Though, while de-summoned, you use any abilities they’d normally provide you.

Next, he lectures me on the importance of training your summon to take verbal commands in battle, how difficult and time-consuming it is, and even then—the restrictions on summoners can accomplish given the limited intelligence of most species.

“—And given your summon is a slime… let’s just say you might have your work cut out for you.”

Rude.

“The good news is that with enough time together, you’ll gradually develop a faint emotional connection with your summon. And one day, should it grow strong enough, Pudding will gain a general sense of where you’d like him to move, making things noticeably easier.

“Interestingly, this connection can grow so strong that there have even been a few reported cases of intense situations where emotions ran high enough for a summon to sense and act on what their summoner wanted before the command was even—”

“Oh, uh… Pudding already does that.”

Vincent blinks. “...Come again?”

“Show him, Pudding.” As soon as I think about it, Pudding leaps up onto the carriage roof.

I pull three spare mushrooms from my satchel and roll them across the field.

POP! POP! POP!

Pudding hits each one with a perfectly aimed glob of slime, then leaps into my arms.

“See?” I pat his head. “Isn’t he a little cutie?”

Vincent’s jaw hangs open.

“I—uh…

“Sorry, I just… uh…”

He covers his mouth with one hand and lowers his gaze, seemingly lost in thought. A couple of minutes pass, but Vincent still doesn’t say anything. I start to get worried.

“Um… Vincent?

No answer.

“...Is everything okay?”

Still nothing.

“You’re starting to scare me, Vincent… If I did something wrong, you can tell me—”

“Squee!” Pudding bounces right in front of Vincent, nearly knocking him in the face.

“Huh? Oh—right. Sorry. Yeah… uh… you’re good. I’m sure the academy will be uh… quite pleased, to say the least.”

I stare at him, puzzled. “What do you mean by—”

“Uh, not important—what really matters is our training just got a hell of a lot easier.”

He folds his arms. “Which brings us… to combat.”

My enthusiasm immediately begins to dampen.

“I know it’s not what you want to hear, but there’s no getting around it. You’re gonna have to fight monsters… and soon summoners too.”

“Vincent… you know I can’t—”

“You have to.” He replies gently but without a hint of hesitation. “Simply practicing your magic over and over again will only take you so far. You have to put yourself in situations that force your body to adapt and push beyond its limits.”

I lower my gaze.

“I mean, kid, it’s not like I’m asking you to go on a killing spree. Think about all the monsters you’ve observed over the years. Don’t plenty of them fight for sport or to settle conflicts?”

“...Yeah.”

“So if two monsters willingly choose to fight, do you think either of them is evil for doing so?”

“…No.”

“Exactly. A consensual spar isn’t cruelty—it’s just nature.”

“That still doesn’t mean I want to see monsters get hurt.”

“Good, then that’s all the more reason to get stronger.”

“...Huh?”

“The better you get at magic, the easier it’ll be to end fights quickly and without anyone getting seriously hurt. Heck, learn healing magic and you can even treat your opponents after a fight.

“Ultimately, now that you’re a summoner, you have to work for the kingdom. You don’t get a choice in that. What kind of summoner you’ll be, however, is a choice that’s entirely yours. You get what I’m saying?”

“...Yeah. I think so.”

“And don’t forget, Pudding will be right alongside you the entire time. Wouldn’t it be nice to know you can always protect him? Those you care about?”

I nod.

“Not to mention, it goes both ways. As a summon grows stronger, they’ll be able to better protect their summoner too. Summons also grant their summoner access to unique spells and abilities that humans would otherwise never be able to acquire. Hopefully by the end of our training, you’ll enter the academy with a bit of monster magic under your belt.

“If it makes you feel any better, we can stick to engaging species that attack us first, and I’ll be right by your side the entire time to make sure you and Pudding stay safe. I’ll replenish your mana after every battle too, so you can give each fight everything you’ve got.

“That alright with you?”

“...I guess.”

…

I still didn’t like it. But…

If growing stronger means protecting the ones I love and ending conflicts peacefully where other summoners can’t… I’m willing to give it my all.

“Now then.” Vincent points toward an open field. “Before we go, I’d like to see what I’m working with. You do have at least a few spells that can be used in combat, right?”

I nod.

“Go ahead. Your turn to share some magic. Show me the strongest attack magic you’ve got.”

I walk out into the field, steady myself, and raise my wand. With all the force I can muster, I send a boulder flying through the air.

“Not bad, that should be able to do some decent—

…Wait a minute. I didn’t hear you chant any—”

I follow up with a large blast of wind. Then a huge water ball. Finally, with everything I have left, I let out a fierce jet of fire, until eventually, it burns out. I wobble a bit before falling to my knees. I take a moment to catch my breath, exhausted from using so much mana at once.

I turn to Vincent to see how I did, but he just starts laughing. “Vincent! Why are you being so mean?! Was I really that bad?!”

“No, no, quite the contrary. You just can’t stop hitting me with surprises, can you?”

I wish he’d be less vague sometimes.

“As far as apprentices go? I think I just hit the jackpot.”

Vincent kneels and holds out his hand for a handshake. “I look forward to working with you, kid.”

“...Nora.”

“Hm?”

“You can—I mean, it’d make me happier if… you just called me Nora.”

He places his hand on my head, replenishing my mana with his own. A soothing warmth spreads throughout my body, washing away my exhaustion as my mana is restored.

He pats my head with a smirk. “Alright N-N-N-Nora, can do.”

He snatches my hat and bolts toward the carriage.

“H-Hey! Vincent! I don’t even stutter with you anymore! At least, not much! And give me my hat back!”

I chase after him, laughing, Pudding joining in on the pursuit. He can be a bit enigmatic sometimes, but there isn’t anybody I’d rather be learning from—

“GYAOOOO!”

The ground slightly trembles.

“Uh… Vincent, what was that?”

“Your first training exercise.”

“WHAT?!”

Birds burst from the forest canopy as a massive beast charges toward our carriage.

It has the body of an elephant, the horns of a ram, and the head and hooves of a bull. Coarse gray fur covers its body, growing especially thick around its neck to form a mane, while its broad back is carpeted in moss, shrubs, and a colorful array of flowers.

“Mossback Auroch. Highly territorial. Very thick skinned. They mostly just charge and stomp at you, but at over ten feet tall that’s more than enough to kill… so uh, good luck!”

Suddenly, a stream of water carries me and Pudding away from the carriage, depositing us in the middle of an open field.

Vincent fires several different brightly colored bursts of water high into the air above us, immediately catching the auroch’s attention. It changes course and sprints toward us.

My head swivels to the right. “Uh, Vincent?!”

He cups his hands and shouts. “Take it down and try your best not to die! If things get bad I’ll jump in and keep you safe!”

My head spins back toward the auroch—now seconds away.

Uh oh.

I yank out my wand and fire off several boulders at the auroch’s head before blasting Pudding and me sideways with a burst of wind, barely avoiding its charge as we skid across the grass.

“I DON’T FEEL VERY SAFE, VINCENT!”

How does something so big move so fast? I definitely have to write about this thing in my—

“No getting distracted—”

Vincent skates by me riding atop a trail of water.

“—you’re in the middle of a fight.”

I glance back. Instead of stopping after it misses, the auroch keeps running, making a wide U-turn, keeping up its momentum before barreling toward us once more.

I fire off another barrage of boulders while Pudding peppers it with globs of acid. But the beast shakes off our attacks like they’re nothing, and we’re both forced to dive out of the way again.

The pattern persists several more times.

Boulders. Acid. Dodge. Repeat.

I try targeting the head. The torso. The legs.

Even its pooper.

No effect whatsoever.

The auroch may be predictable…

…but what does that matter if we have no way of stopping it?

I'm starting to get tired. I can’t just keep pointlessly burning through mana like this. But I don’t know what else to do.

I dodge a few more times, desperately searching for a weakness as it races by, but find nothing.

My earth magic won’t stop it. Wind and water would be even more useless. Fire might do the trick…

…but I can’t risk destroying the ecosystem covering its back just to win. That wouldn’t be right.

…

My breathing grows ragged.

Not good. This thing is relentless. If I don’t figure something out soon, I’m—

“Pay attention.” Vincent’s voice comes from behind. I whirl around to find the Auroch moments away from plowing right through me.

I hastily fire off a blast of wind magic to knock myself out of the way, but fail to stick the landing, stumbling backwards. My foot slips on the residue from the trail of water Vincent’s been skating around on, sending me sprawling onto the grass.

As if I didn’t have enough to keep track of already!

My attention immediately turns to Vincent, watching me fight as though he doesn’t have a care in the world, casually skating around with an annoying smirk on his face.

I’m getting a little tired of him and that stupid—

Oh my gosh! I got it!

“Vincent! Give me a ride to the forest!”

“Nope. That’d be cheating.”

“You threw me into a fight without any warning or time to prepare! Isn’t that cheating?!”

“Fine. One ride.”

Vincent scoops up Pudding and me, rocketing toward the forest with the auroch still chasing after us.

The moment we arrive, he drops us off and skates away. “This better be good!” he shouts.

I search for the two types of herbs I had passed up earlier, scrambling to gather as many as I can. Just as I finish collecting a satisfactory amount—

“GYAOO!”

The auroch charges straight through us, just barely missing as we dive out of the way.

The auroch doesn’t show even a hint of fatigue. Meanwhile, I’ve got maybe—at best—a minute left before I’m completely spent.

It digs its hooves into the earth, carving out another U-turn.

I won’t lie, this charge is looking particularly nasty. But the thing is, this time…

…we’re ready!

“Let’s do this, Pudding!”

I stuff every last herb in his mouth, causing him to rapidly swell in size and experience a dramatic change in viscosity. As soon as his transformation finishes, he rapidly shrinks back down as he ejects slime all over the ground. Then, just as he finishes—

“Now!”

We both dive aside one last time as the auroch charges straight through the slick. Its footing vanishes instantly, sending the massive beast crashing onto its side and skidding helplessly across the forest floor.

“GYAOOO?!”

With no time to waste, I sprint after it as fast as my legs will carry me. The moment it stops sliding, I raise great walls of earth, bending them around each of its legs—one by one—until they’re all trapped. Refusing to let up, I pile more and more earth onto them until nearly every last drop of my mana is spent. I collapse onto my back, exhausted and gasping for breath.

I’m almost too scared to see whether or not my plan worked, but I force my head to the side all the same.

The auroch struggles—but my magic holds strong.

It continues to struggle.

Twisting. Bucking. Thrashing. Until finally…

…it gives up, accepting its defeat.

I throw my arms wide and let out a victorious howl, mimicking the auroch.

“Gyaoooo!”

I am Nora.

Half apex predator.

Half cutie patootie.

Hear me roar.

I eventually pick myself up and walk over to the auroch to pet its head, watching as it gradually starts to relax.

“You did well buddy. You did well. We’ll let you out real soon, alright?”

“See? I knew you could do it, kid.”

I shoot Vincent an angry glare.

“S-sorry. I knew you could do it, Nora, I meant.”

Ugh, that wasn’t the only thing I was upset about, Vincent!

“Seriously though, I mean it. Less than twenty-four hours as a summoner, and you two already work well enough together to take down a Mossback Auroch. You should be patting yourselves on the back. Plus, you didn’t even need to injure it, just immobilize it. Fighting’s not all bad, right?”

“I guess it wasn’t… awful. Figuring out how to use the tools at our disposal to beat him was a bit like a puzzle… and I do enjoy puzzles. Plus, I do feel a little proud of the way Pudding and I safely took down something so big together… I didn’t know we had it in us.”

I also have this strange feeling in my chest after our fight, like my spellcasting really has gotten the tiniest bit sharper, and my bond with Pudding the teensiest bit stronger.

I sigh as I look up at Vincent begrudgingly. “You were right, Vincent. Thank you for believing in us.”

“Sorry Nora, I know that was a harsh way to teach you. I had a mentor that did the same thing to me when I was an apprentice. I resented them for it at the time, but now that I’m older, I know that training was exactly what I needed to become the wizard I am today.”

“It’s okay, I understand.”

He looks over at the auroch, then kneels to pet it alongside me. “It is strange though, these guys are usually found in pairs, I wonder whatever happened to its—”

“GYYAAOOOOOOOO!”

…

“Guess that’s their mate.”

Vincent places his hand on my back, restoring my mana and washing away my exhaustion once more.

“So… ready for round two?”

…

“Not really.”

“Well then, I’ve got some bad news for you, because you’re in for a full week of this. Good luck!”

Vincent skates away on another trail of water. I turn to the second auroch charging toward me.

…

Somehow…

…I get the feeling this is going to be a rough week.