First Encounter

Daichi traversed an off-the-beaten path as he descended further down the wooded hill. His beige robe would occasionally get caught on bushes, but otherwise, the excursion was just like a scenic mountain walk back home. 

He smiled on remembering his mother's love for nature. The fleeting moment's he'd spent with her were some of his most prized possessions. I'll make it out of here no matter what, then I'm heading on a real hike just like our old days! 

Through the interactive Menu, Daichi checked his Gear and Inventory again as he walked. Indeed, there were no actual weapons to defend himself with besides “Basic Tome” and “Basic Scroll”. He read up on the former’s details:

[Basic Tome: An Invoker’s default weapon. Used to invoke summons up to C grade.]

Daichi tapped to equip the tome and it instantly materialized in his right hand. It was a hefty, thick book depicting Dominion’s heart-shaped leaf on the faded, brown cover. He flipped through the pages: an alien language he’d never seen before overwhelmed him. Flavor text? The inner spine partition opened to a set of pages showing a summoning circle surrounded with similar markings from the temple. There was a lack of instructions on how to cast summons though.

Any chance there's a dummy's guide buried somewhere in all this? He opened the Skill Tree tab and tapped on “Furbolt Summon" for details:

[Name: Furbolt (Stage 1)

Grade: E

Lore: A black panther kitten that emits jolts of electricity. It is nimble and specializes in stunning foes, but lacks survivability.]

Dang. Probably gonna be a while before I unlock something I can fly on, he thought.

With still no instructions on how to commence a summon, Daichi scratched his head and decided to have a practice session. Underneath a tree, he struck a dramatic pose with the tome opened and extended out in his right hand.

“Come forth, Furbolt!” he commanded in a nerdy fashion. 

Nothing.

“I summon thee, Furbolt!”

Nope.

“I got really yummy fish here for a friend named Furbolt!”

Maybe he was making someone laugh somewhere at least.

Daichi leaned back on the tall tree and exhaled. Out of the corner of his eye, another green notification bell appeared. He sluggishly tapped on it and read an accompanying banner:

[Tip: To perform a summon, open your tome to the double-page summoning circle and recite the name of your summon, followed by the phrase “Activate!”]

One of his eyelids started twitching. Yup, someone's definitely messing with me.

Daichi got into position again. He spread his legs for an epic pose and took a deep breath. “Furbolt: Stage 1! Activate!"

His tome's pages immediately blared green sparks then began glowing. The depicted summoning circle spewed arrays of particles that shone bright even in sunlight. A fierce surge of energy coursed through Daichi’s arm as he contemplated dropping the tome, but just as the thought arrived, the green light condensed into a ball and shot down to the ground.

A kitten's shape started to materialize. Green particles peeled off until the light subsided, and only a cute-eyed, black feline with a blue lightning bolt on its forehead remained.

“Nyaa! Nyaa!” It meowed up at him as its tail wagged.

Daichi stared at his creation with bewilderment, like a woman who didn’t know she was pregnant just gave birth. Did I do that? He knelt over to pet the black kitten, causing Furbolt to purr and shift around its head, maximizing exposure to Daichi’s hand. He pinched the soft fur with several rubs to another set of purrs. I've never owned a pet but now I regret everything I've missed out on!

“Good boy, good boy,” Daichi smiled, continuing to pet Furbolt. “Or is that something you tell dogs? I don’t have much experience with this stuff, sorry, haha."

He unequipped his tome, making it vanish, then checked his blue MP. The Furbolt summon had drained half the gauge but it appeared to be slowly recharging. Cool, no surprises, apart from Furbolt costing more than expected.

“Alright, might as well have a little exhibit to see what you’re capable of,” Daichi said. He motioned for Furbolt to follow him down the hill to a large tree. The cat obeyed, and as if it could read Daichi’s mind, Furbolt zoomed up the tree without issue and perched on a high branch.

“Nyaa! Nyaa!” it proudly said.

“Guess you're a bonafide monkey, huh? Wonder what else you can do.” Furbolt’s lore about its nimbleness wasn’t an exaggeration then. Noted.

Daichi concluded that his Invoker's kit had more potential utility than just a cute furball. But the true test had yet to take place. He needed to see what Furbolt was capable of in combat. It was hard imagining the kitty harming anything, even if it could emit electricity like a certain yellow mouse. 

“Let’s go find friends for you to play with.” He waved for the kitty to climb down as he began walking away. Furbolt loyally followed.

The forest itself wasn’t more spectacular than IRL counterparts. Daichi also hadn’t seen any wildlife apart from the Hummingheal. There's gotta be something around for my cute friend to sink his teeth into.

As if on cue, Daichi heard a high-pitched screeching noise from somewhere nearby. Furbolt’s ears locked-in like a radar and it ran ahead, then Daichi chased after him.

“Wait up!”

After pummeling through some bushes, Daichi emerged into a clearing. Furbolt was staring down what appeared to be a teddy-bear-sized grasshopper with muscular hind legs. Daichi's eyes focused in on the insect, causing a pop-up banner to appear:

[Name: Hopper

Level: 2

Lore: A cross between a cricket and a grasshopper. It can’t deal damage but emits noises capable of disorientation. Very territorial and known for traveling in swarms. Should their screeches combine, they can knock Adventurers unconscious.]

Furbolt’s fur stood on end, sending blue sparks flying. Its teeth were bared as it hissed, then took a defensive stance in front of Daichi.

The Hopper hopped back several meters while increasing the voracity of its screeching noise—nails on chalkboard would be downplaying it. Daichi’s ears rang and part of his hearing subsided. Shielding his ears with his hands did little. Soon, the Hopper pounced forward, forcing Furbolt and Daichi back.

We might be screwed in a prolonged fight like this, he thought. If we’re gonna battle we gotta do it now! “Go! Attack the Hopper!”

Furbolt lurched ahead, closing the distance fast. The Hopper was quick but needed precious moments to prepare a hop. In the midst of its third jump, Hopper's neck was snagged by Furbolt’s fangs. The feline dragged it down and pumped it full of blue electricity, as if injecting crippling venom. Daichi watched the insect’s health plummet to zero; then its corpse poofed into green particles.

“Alright! Way to go, Furbolt! Woo!" He cheered like a proud parent. 

A level gauge flashed from Daichi’s POV, showing his EXP total increasing to Level 2, raising all his stats. The system notified him he’d unlocked his “Playercard”. Daichi tapped on the banner and it brought up a large, virtual ID card. It displayed his first name, his current level, and his class. A displayed notice said his Playercard was visible to any Adventurer that focused on him, and that he could also now reveal other player's Playercards.

Could be problematic if everyone knows I'm a newbie, but there's no apparent workaround. At least it might help finding Kyouko a little easier.

Furbolt strutted back to Daichi with the smuggest look a cat could have. Eager to reward hard work, Daichi picked up and swung the little kitty around.

“N’yaaaaaa!"  it said with glee.

“You’re already so strong! Hard to imagine this isn't even your final form!” Daichi stopped and examined Furbolt from head to toe. “I don’t suppose you know if you have a time limit or something though?”

"Nyaa?" The feline gave him a blank expression then cutely yawned.

It’s not feasible for a summon to last forever, right? Oh well. Daichi would worry about the technicalities later. For now, it’s time they head—

Furbolt suddenly started thrashing in his hands. Daichi let him fall below and it scurried behind him. As if under sleep paralysis, Daichi's head refused to turn around, and the tiny hairs on his neck stood straight up. The expression on Furbolt wasn't one of confidence or even alarm, but of appeasement—like the cat had already surrendered to whatever lurked behind.

A bead of sweat formed under Daichi’s chin as he felt the pounding force of hundreds of eyes bearing into his back; but the bitter, accompanying silence was even more haunting.

He turned around slowly, dragging his line of sight along the ground. Furbolt’s fur was sparking as its short legs trembled, tail altering between standing and limping. Finally, Daichi raised his gaze. In the dark recesses of the forest before them, thousands of beady eyes beamed straight into him.

The silhouettes of incalculable numbers of Hoppers took shape, all exerting palpable malice. They were in the trees, in the bushes, on the ground, even piled on top of each other with no other place to stand.

In an instant, oceans of Hoppers unleashed the crushing sound of infinite glass shattering at once. Daichi’s hearing immediately ruptured and his knees buckled to the ground. Contorted vision, erratic breathing, and convulsing limbs caused Daichi to vomit out whatever was in his stomach. He couldn't even hear his own thoughts anymore, and the only comfort was a creeping blackness as his consciousness wavered.

But then his pinky felt a sudden sting. He opened his debilitated eyes to see Furbolt’s fangs sunk deep into him. Blood leaked from the gash but even more blood pooled from Furbolt’s ears.

What are you . . . doing?

The Hopper’s symphony of misery continued. Furbolt sank its teeth further in, helping Daichi stay conscious with pain, even as the screeching tormented Furbolt’s fragile hearing.

But no more. Its jaw released Daichi’s pinky and the cat fell over. The two partners made eye contact one final time before Furbolt dissipated into green particles and vanished.

The forest full of Hoppers did not relent. Their screeching only weakened for several seconds, enough for Daichi to formulate his last stand. He tore handfuls of dirt off the ground, then spit into and mushed it together. Daichi crammed the concoction into his ears and braced himself.

With what little strength he had left, Daichi lifted himself and bolted away from the horde. His hands shielded his ears, but even combined with mush, couldn’t block all the noise—only just enough to keep him conscious.

The Hoppers hopped after him, seemingly determined to chase Daichi out of their woodland. Ringing overwhelmed him and he could feel his body failing again. Bushes and branches whipped without remorse as he entered a dense area. Soon his sprint slowed to a jog and Daichi's blurred vision caused him to trip forward, tumbling down a steep hill. He rolled like a log until reaching the bottom.

Hopper’s screeches subsided, allowing Daichi’s thoughts to return. Had he escaped their forest? Was he safe? But his hopes dashed away as green insects descended the hill and resumed their miserable symphony.

He was at his limit. If this was fate, so be it.

The Hoppers were upon him. But a sudden bright, white light from the side pushed them all back. The light placed itself protectively in front of Daichi, blocking not only the Hoppers but also their screeching. A woman's silhouette wielding an ornate staff took shape as she turned back and shouted something. But Daichi was too far gone to perceive anything anymore, and he slipped away into unconsciousness.