Thronebound Summoner

Entering the school gates, Biron looked around at the many children walking in alongside him. The gates themselves appeared to be made of gold, tall, arching, and adorned with intricate runes that glowed every time someone passed as if inspecting them. The walls enclosing the academy were built from pale stone and ornamented with silver, and behind them rose a collection of grand towers, each shaped uniquely with different crests on them.

It was a place unlike anything Biron had ever seen.

Lush gardens lined the entrance path, filled with strange flora that moved slightly even without wind. Floating lanterns drifted above the walkways, casting soft, pulsing light that shifted in color as if guiding the way.

Despite his tragic past, he couldn't help but feel grateful to be where he was now.

He glanced at the students around him, many of whom looked to be his age. But what truly captured his attention were the creatures accompanying them.

Some were cute, others terrifying—giant slugs, small lovable rodents, even beings with bodies made entirely of fire or water.

He hadn't been able to summon one yet, just like many others who walked without a creature by their side.

Still, he had to focus. He needed to find his assigned class.

To do that, he first had to visit the front office and hand over a letter given to him by the church that had tested him.

His hands trembled slightly with excitement as he prepared to run off.

That's when he nearly collided with a girl.

He caught himself just in time, sidestepping to avoid knocking her over—but ended up falling on his own.

To save face, he did a few push-ups before springing back to his feet.

The girl kept her eyes on him, clearly surprised by the gesture, then extended a hand.

"Sorry about that… I wasn't looking—"

Biron's mouth was left wide open. He even forgot what he was saying. This was probably the first girl his age who made him feel something strange, and that was weird because he had only met like five girls in his life.

The girl had long red hair, large green eyes, and a beautiful face by any standard. But what caught his attention were her ears. They were pointed, not long, just slightly pointed. She was also a little short… but still cute. Very cute.

[Are you one of the otherworlders? The guide told me to inform you… to hurry up.]

Suddenly, her sweet voice rang inside his head through the staff. He flushed red just from hearing and feeling her gentle voice within his mind, as if it softly scratched at the surface of his thoughts.

"Alright, thank you!" Biron wanted to say more, but he noticed the girl was already walking off without waiting for him.

"Hey, wait! One question… where is the office?" Biron ran after her, determined to at least learn her name.

Five minutes later, he was slowly making his way toward the office, slumping and feeling a bit down.

Mirelia, Mirelia…

He had managed to get only the girl's name and was trying to keep it engraved in his memory. Other than that, she had more or less run away from him. He wasn't exactly rejected… but it still stung that it ended so fast.

Within a few seconds, he reached the front of the office. Standing there was someone who looked like a teacher. Biron had been homeschooled but still knew what a teacher was—his real father had once told him that, back when Earth was thriving, he had been one himself.

The person here, though, looked slightly grumpy. He took the sheet of paper that Biron handed over and silently gave him another one in return.

Biron struggled a little to understand what was written, so he pressed it against his staff.

[Young summoner Biron, you need to go up the stairs and to the third room on the left.]

The guide's voice was different from the one he'd heard that morning. It seemed the guide was never the same person twice.

Biron followed the instructions. He climbed the long stairway, which spanned four flights, even though he only needed to reach the next floor. Once there, he turned toward the third door, where students were still entering. The large corridor stretched on endlessly.

And there, he saw someone he was glad to see again.

Mirelia.

The young girl was near the front, and luckily, she had chosen a seat that no one else seemed interested in sitting beside.

Biron hurried forward, then waved to the girl, who was quietly absorbed in a book.

"Oh, don't be like that. We can be good friends…" Biron said as he sat beside her. Each desk seated two.

[Let me read… need to summon. Can make friends later.]

The red-haired girl, Mirelia, glared at him as he tried to talk.

"Fine… fine… at least teach me when you're done. I need to learn how to use magic too."

Biron looked at the book in her hands. It had about a hundred pages, and he could see various creatures illustrated within.

Before he could focus more on it, a plump, middle-aged man entered the room. He snapped his fingers a few times, trying to get everyone's attention.

When the chatter continued, he clapped his hands, and a sudden gust of wind pushed everyone back slightly.

At the teacher's desk, a formless tornado appeared, swirling silently.

[I will say it again, sit down and pay attention, you all should have your insignia on, so you should be able to hear me… so sit down and listen up, I won't be repeating myself. Within your desk, there is paper and ink. If you have your own material, use it, just make sure to take notes.]

Biron looked down and saw all the materials laid out in front of him. The only problem was that he only had an elementary-level grasp of writing—he couldn't spell long or complicated words.

"Uhm…" Biron tried to call out to his guide when he noticed the ink on the page had started to write down everything he was hearing.

"Do you see this?" he whispered to the girl, keeping his voice as low as possible so the teacher wouldn't hear.

All the red-haired girl did was put a finger to her lips and continue working, but instead of letting the ink write for her, she wrote in a strange language by hand.

Biron glanced around the room. He noticed that most students were writing manually. Those like him—whose ink helped them—either looked younger or seemed to be from other countries or territories. It was obvious from their skin color and accents.

Encouraged, he began to focus on his own work. He saw the page was already halfway filled with words. They were understandable and, more importantly, relevant to what he wanted to do: summon a creature.

As he continued reading, he realized he would need to find a book like the one Mirelia was using and try to form a monster based on the creature shown within.