Rise of the Weakest Summoner

Waiting a few more minutes in silence to see if nothing would truly find them, the group began setting up their resting space. They could feel the slight rumbling outside as the constant stream of creatures passed through the mountains, still trying to catch up to them. With Abyss covering their butts, there should be no more issues for the time being.

“So, anyone knows what happened?” Tina asked after they were done bringing out all the necessary furniture, consisting of a table, a few chairs, and of course a massive bed.

“With the broken disc?” Selene glanced at her. “All I saw was a massive flash after Althea touched it. Did filling the last missing part cause that?”

“I don’t think so.” The draconic lady shook her head, taking a sip of cold fruity tea. “The reaction took place before I could fully join the equation and become part of the loop. But, at the same time, something did happen, as we all have seen.”

“You didn’t get to circulate the energy with us, but we felt your presence,” Miria said thoughtfully. “The mana in the token swirled faster and that might have activated something perhaps.”

“That’s right. And I have a feeling that we would have achieved the same result if the two of us simply pushed harder so don’t blame yourself for what happened,” Asterios added, meeting his mentor’s gentle gaze.

“I won’t,” Althea promised. “We didn’t get to study that weird net, but at least we might have found out the location of the other nearby clusters. Unless this thing points to something else entirely.”

“We’ll see for ourselves soon. Unless anyone has any other ideas we could explore before departing on a week-long journey?” He dragged his eyes over his mates but no one stepped forward. “Alright. Let’s rest up properly. This realm isn’t easy on the mind.”

“Apologies.” Umbra bowed kindly but everyone waved him off, not blaming either of the dark beings for anything.

Asterios chatted with Miria for an hour or two as she gushed about the changes from what she had done in the facility. They investigated, examined, and explored her body and mind thoroughly to understand everything as best as they could. The tattoo she now carried on her back intrigued everyone so she stayed furless most of the time, soaking in their curiosity and awe with pride.

But, the most fascinating thing was obviously Miria’s new ability to utilize all of Ast’s affinities. They tested a few things out, including her enhanced regeneration. It made Asterios a tad uncomfortable to see his beloved mate cut herself deeper and deeper but he said nothing, knowing that the ladies had gone through pretty much the same feelings when he was the one doing it. Thankfully, since Bryn was absent, Miria agreed not to cut off her fingers or even limbs.

However, Tia insisted that the panthergirl wouldn’t be effective enough in such a situation since she lacked the direct support of a Dryad, only commanding the energies of life and nature. So, she wouldn’t heal up to the same level as Asterios, but she would still be able to continue fighting even with a sword to the chest if it missed her heart. For a frontline fighter, that was perfect, especially since she didn’t need to bother her Master for aid every single time.

After finishing their brief tests, they decided to call it a night. Slipping into the bed first, Asterios waited to see what was going to happen. As expected, Miria and Silvia approached him together and snuggled to his sides as he lay on his back. It looked like they were content with sleeping on top of him as their legs and arms rested over his frame and their faces nuzzled his chest. He caressed both girls affectionately, running his palms over their smooth skin while kissing their soft hair. 

The panthergirl had the advantage of possessing a tail, which was the only thing the princess could be jealous of as she couldn’t experience having it fluffed and stroked. But, Asterios made sure she felt lots of his love too through his tender touch. As for the other girls, they gladly piled up next to them, choosing to embrace each other, and they all soon dozed off in the comfort of their little family.

In the morning, Tia woke them up with mischievous whispers and impish imagery that made a great number of girls sport a fair blush as they found Ast’s eyes. He admonished the frivolous Dryad while greeting his mates with lots of tender kisses. They ate breakfast in bed while laughing and talking, simply basking in each other’s presence, unbothered by their lack of attire. It wasn’t like anyone could see or spy on them anyway.

Finished with their preparations and feeling ready to tackle the next part of their grand quest, they grouped up behind Asterios as he faced Umbra and Abyss.

“The monster marathon seems to be finished,” the mysterious goddess informed them. “It should be safe to continue.”

“What’s the plan?” Asterios asked.

“I will be transporting you as fast as I can while she shall erase our presence when necessary,” Umbra explained. “Since this will take a while, depending on all the variables along the way, we’ll be stopping to rest regularly. It’s more for your minds rather than our exhaustion.”

“We’ll leave ourselves in your capable hands.” Althea smiled at the Lord of Shadows.

He peeked out of the cave to scout their surroundings, and confirming that they were safe, the long journey began. For most of the time, Umbra slithered over the ground, avoiding unnecessary conflict and risks while Asterios and the girls sat tight inside his shadows. It was quite draining even if they weren’t the ones exerting themselves. Asterios and Miria took it the best out of them.

Fortunately, they figured out a way to make it easier to pass the time. Broadening their shared bond, they formed a stable connection between their minds, becoming one. It allowed them to enter a kind of trance while they conversed mentally and explored their heads. It allowed them to even experience actual sunlight and blue skies again as their imagination worked wonders. It was like they were living inside their memories for a while.

Something like that couldn’t be upheld forever without straining their minds to a similar extent as just bearing with the eerie form of transport would, so the group interlaced the periods of either, effectively training their psyche. Something that would prove to be useful in a place like this. Umbra was now more vigilant about any potential mental attacks but it never hurt getting better themselves.

The first half of the trip wrapped up without any larger issues. They had almost been spotted a few times while moving through an extremely complex labyrinth of vile canyons but otherwise had an easy time. Stopping from time to time so they could recover their strength, they were happy with their progress.

During the last few days of the journey, they experienced a change in scenery more pronounced than any minor differences they had spotted before. The ground resembled something akin to dark glittering crystal with a perfectly refined surface. It wasn’t completely flat and still assumed irregular angles like any other region. The edges were simply smooth, making everything appear as if someone laid a thin blanket atop the entire region.

Additionally, instead of trees, flora, or rocky formations, the uncanny place was full of floating vertical pillars of the same crystal. Bigger, smaller, they all had the same shape of an elongated octahedron. Purplish streaks of energy zapped the air and ground in their vicinity, resembling lightning strikes. No monsters were in sight but that didn’t mean no entities lurked around, hiding their presence.

~This is as close as we can get,~ Umbra said at one moment. ~Prepare to step out. And watch your footing.~

They had camped over this region a few times, but always in some kind of an alcove, wrapped up in Abyss’ energy, so it would technically be the first time they were coming in contact with the weird crystalized land. Their coachman stopped and they emerged from the shadows. The second his darkness disappeared, Miria yelped and almost slipped, catching herself on Ast’s side.

“It’s so slippery!” She giggled awkwardly. “Why is it like this? I can’t put any weight on my feet! I’m not that clumsy! Or am I?”

Asterios snickered, fighting against the slickness too albeit with much better results. “You are one of the most graceful ladies I know. Plus, you are a gorgeous feline, so no, I don’t think you are the problem here.”

Looking at the other women, that proved to be correct. Everyone struggled to a certain extent.

“It’s because you aren’t actually touching the ground,” Umbra explained, making a few of the girls frown.

Tina crouched down, almost falling flat on her face, but managed to lie on her belly. She immediately noticed that her body truly didn’t touch the crystal surface. Glancing at everyone’s feet, she further confirmed that they hovered a hair’s breadth above the ground. Sharing her perspective with her companions, she flopped onto her back and pushed herself towards Asterios, gliding over to him like she was on ice.

He laughed at her silly expression as she glanced up at him from below and carefully helped her up, taking the fine lady into his arms. “How can this be?”

“The static energy infused with mana forms a layer over everything,” Abyss shared thoughtfully. “That’s why everything looks so glazed. It’s not by my design. What happened here?”

“A failed spell,” the Duke answered. “The caster was gravely injured during the preparation and it went out of control. Also, this is still the very edge of the blast. We are nowhere near the epicenter yet. Where I’m afraid the golden beam is leading us to.”

“It shouldn’t surprise us anymore that the facilities are in the middle of post-cataclysm zones,” Selene commented. “They are like magnets for conflict and war.”

“Will we be able to dig through this?” Althea tried tapping the surface stronger and stronger but didn’t even reach it. “We might have a bit of a problem searching for the underground vault.”

Umbra snickered. “Don’t worry. We won’t have to. While it certainly will be problematic, it’s not for the reasons you think of. You’ll understand when we get there. Should I help you move?”

“No need. This might actually be fun. As long as nothing ambushes us.” Asterios completed his half-draconic transformation and flapped his wings.

Propelling himself forward, he slid over the mystical crystal with a chuckle, swinging his legs to control the momentum and direction. He had to fight for both but it was very entertaining. Besides, it could double as an eccentric practice method.

Miria clapped her hands joyfully and maxed her bloodline without growing. Crouching down, she managed to somehow leap forward, over a much smaller distance than she had expected, but it still sent her sliding as she landed just like her beloved master. She almost crashed into him but he jumped over her, both of them laughing merrily. The others soon joined them through their own means and the whole party glided forward while bumping into each other.

They were having a small race when Umbra’s shadows suddenly stopped them in their tracks and gathered them together. Surprised, they glanced at their friendly butler.

“We are here,” he announced. “You wouldn’t want to suddenly drop into the bottomless pit, would you?”

A bit confused, they peered ahead, and after a few seconds, they finally noticed the almost seamless transition between the crystal ground and the lack thereof. Asterios carefully flapped his wings to bring himself closer and peeked past the smooth edge. A gigantic chasm stood before him, reaching further ahead and to the sides than he could see. It was completely dark, glittering just like its walls.

“This is the very middle of the explosion. As you can see, it was quite powerful.” Umbra let out an echoing chuckle.

“What’s even capable of so much destruction?” Silvia pondered out loud. “Does this hole ever end?”

“Legends say no, but maybe no one simply dared to seek the bottom,” he replied.

“Isn’t this pointless?” Miria groaned. “There’s no way the facility exists after the spell was set off. Just look at the size of this thing. Looks like we wasted our time.”

“I wouldn’t say so,” Abyss joined in. “I can feel the traces of the cluster’s spiritual signature in our vicinity. He might have wrapped it up in enough protection that it was pushed to the very bottom while experiencing the blast or such. I think the badge wouldn’t direct us to inactive power sites or else it would have shown the ones we already visited.”

“Sounds logical,” Asterios agreed. “How are we going to descend?”

“Jump,” the Duke responded mirthfully.

He blinked at his familiar, then stared into the glittering abyss. Selene shrugged and did as he’d suggested. Everyone got ready to join the fox lady before she plunged too far ahead, but they paused after witnessing the perplexing sight.

“What?” The fox-eared goddess waved her limbs chaotically.

After dropping below the ground level, Selene’s descent suddenly stopped. Her body began rotating in random directions as she floated up with velocity matching her fall. She was launched slightly into the air before sinking below the invisible surface once more. Everyone’s eyes followed her bouncing up and down repeatedly in the middle of nothing while Umbra kept snickering behind them.

When she lost all the momentum and found her bearings, her body hovered in the air vertically, her head being the only part poking over the edge of the chams. They noticed that depending on how far to the sides their white-haired friend extended her arms, the depth at which she hung changed, either lifting or bringing her down. Utterly flabbergasted, she stared at the group on the shore.

“What is this sorcery?” Selene inquired, leaning to the back and being raised equal to the ground level as she lay on empty air.

“This is the source of the static-infused mana.” Umbra finally decided to fill them in. “It flows right from here and spreads over the crystal, creating that thin layer of invisible pressure. You are basically swimming in it right now as it tries to push you away.”

Miria suddenly dove into the hole and started paddling at a steep angle, moving lower and lower. At least until she stopped and was brought back to Selene in a flash. Breaking through the surface, she took a deep breath, then looked in the party’s direction and turned deep red.

“Oh. Oops. I think I have subconsciously held my breath.” She giggled shyly.

Trying to hide her embarrassment, she started swimming in circles around her sister-mate.

“I can’t believe I’m still getting surprised.” Silvia shook her head with a tiny hint of a smile.

“Right?” Tina chuckled next to her.

“Well, I guess it’s time we go diving in an invisible lake.” Asterios laughed. “Am I right to assume that the higher mass the easier it will be to descend?”

“Naturally.” Umbra nodded.

“Do you require assistance?” Abyss asked calmly.

“I’ll hold you onto that for now. I have an idea.” Asterios grinned while looking at the cheerfully panthergirl.

Sensing his gaze, she looked back at him and perceived his intentions as their eyes met. Also grinning gleefully, Miria hastily swam to him and hoisted herself back onto the ground, standing in front of Asterios while brimming with excitement. He chuckled and offered his cute mate a kiss. She was always so eager to be useful.

“We need to tie ourselves together with something durable,” he said to the others.

Althea pulled out a tiny sack from her spatial storage, unraveled the cord around it, and picked up a few greenish seeds. Hiding away the rest, she whispered to those gathered above her palm, and a trail of emerald mana wafted toward them. A moment later, they began to grow and expand, joining together. Waiting for Selene to meet them ashore, she then signaled her readiness and Asterios nodded at her.

Tough but gentle vines wrapped themselves around everyone’s waists, including her own. She tested their strength by pulling forcefully, utilizing her draconic strength, but they held.

“Thank you.” Asterios shared a smile with his mentor. “Miria? Your turn.”

“Yay!” The panthergirl pecked his cheek and stepped aside.

The party watched her shift and grow until she once again turned into a feline beast rivaling Ast’s draconic size. Althea made sure the vines didn’t squeeze her too much, adjusting the diameter of the loop. The sizable panther let out soft growls and looked ready to pounce.

“I don’t think this will be enough,” Selene pointed out. “Wouldn’t your True Dragon body be heavier, my Lord?”

“I’m sure I’ll be getting a lot of smack for saying this, but she has the potential to be the heaviest of us all.” He smirked at her. “Let’s go.”

Miria roared and launched herself forward. Mid-leap, Asterios snapped his fingers and a string of whitish energy traveled over the panther’s entire body. In a blink, her fur was replaced with an extremely smooth silvery surface, turning the feline girl into a living statue of reflective metal.

In the next moment, she dropped into the chasm like a boulder into a lake, yanking everyone after her.

“Youuuuuuuuuuu caaaaaaaaaaan’t saaaaaaaaay thaaaaaaaaat abouuuuuuuuuuuut aaaaaaa laaaaaaaaaaadyyyyyyyyy!” Tina screamed as they plunged into the darkness at breakneck speed.

They all just laughed while swinging wildly, trying not to hit each other.

Soon enough, they descended so far they couldn’t find the top anymore and everything merged into one giant nothingness around them. They felt like they were falling through a glittering starry sky. Asterios pulled himself closer to the silvery figure of Miria and hugged his metallic familiar, using his wings to direct them further to the center of the immense crater.

For a few minutes, they were alone in that eerie darkness, but at a certain depth, some creepy shapes started showing up. It wasn’t unthinkable for creatures to live down here, just like fish and other animals lived in the depths of an ocean. However, the disfigured horrors zipping past them turned out to be rather aggressive.

Umbra took it upon himself to protect the party and chased all the instigators away, smacking them with his shadows or outright killing off the bolder assailants. His menacing form swirled around the group, merging with the artificial night, ambushing the so-called predators whenever they least expected it. No one was able to get close to Asterios and the girls.

“Look there!” Silvia shouted after a few more minutes of falling.

Amidst the pure black background, the stark white and gold structure glowed like a torch. Everyone spotted the hidden complex floating a distance from and below them, not so hidden anymore. But, at their current rate of descent, they would pass it way before Asterios could bring them closer.

The others realized that too.

“We will help!” Selene announced.

She started pushing herself aside with celestial platforms. Tina strained her new flying ability to do the same. Silvia used flames to propel herself. Althea decided to focus on keeping the vines stable and watch carefully in case she needed to regenerate them.

Unfortunately, they didn’t make it in time and the bright complex zipped upwards right before them.

“A little more!” Asterios ordered. “Then get ready to inverse!”

They combined their efforts until he judged them far enough to slip underneath the structure, then canceled his spell on Miria. The silvery panther returned to its natural state and immediately shifted back into their furry-eared friend. Instantly, the pressure struck them hard and they began ascending even faster than they had been falling.

“Wohohohoho!” Miria cheered, hugging Asterios tightly. “This is so much fun!”

He chuckled but kept himself focused. Making sure he positioned everyone beneath the white chambers, he prepared to shift. Moments before they crashed into the outer walls of the complex, he turned into a True Dragon and flapped his wings, temporarily fighting against the current that pulled them upwards.

The ladies gasped and yelped at the violent tug, but their velocity dropped just enough to let them land on the structure without hurting themselves. Asterios carefully dropped between them, making sure not to step onto any of his precious lovers. Assuring that they were safe, he changed back and joined the ladies in sitting upside down below the hideout.

“Whew. That was real something.” Tina snickered, lying on her back with a pretty smile.

“Again!” Miria squealed excitedly. “Let’s do it one more time!”

“No way.” Silvia let out a charming laugh, shaking her head. “I have enough falling for a lifetime.”

“You better get used to it.” Althea smirked. “With a True Dragon for a mate, you will spend more time above than on the ground at some point.”

“I take my words back, my Lord. Your plan was commendable. From start to finish.” Selene crawled to him, ending with her head in his lap as he played with her soft ears. “What exactly did Miria turn into?”

“One of the heaviest non-magical metals, platinum,” he replied, enjoying watching her relaxed expression. “It worked better than expected. Maybe we can see for ourselves if this chasm truly is neverending when we have some free time on our hands.”

“I’m down!” Miria raised her hand eagerly. “Literally!”

They all chuckled and rested a moment before gathering up to find a way into the next facility.