Thronebound Summoner

Biron had a copy of the book—it was the standard every student in class was required to have. Within it, he had to choose one monster to begin creating. It was difficult at first to create something out of nothing, but the guide was helping him.

[Read through the pages and pick the one you find suitable for yourself. Within the first fifteen pages, you should be able to find one. The others will take more time, as they require more mana. Start slow and work your way up.]

Flipping through the pages, he saw they were well organized. The first section began with insects of all kinds and rodents, ranging from small rats to large kangaroos half a meter tall.

Next came cats, dogs, and foxes—nice, fluffy choices that many girls and boys seemed to favor.

The fourth page was where many boys made their picks; it featured small geckos, iguanas, snakes, and frogs. The larger entries included small alligators.

The following pages list even larger creatures, which required someone capable of handling more mana: small ponies, large predatory birds, hogs, and even bigger lizards resembling small triceratops.

After that came the true summons. Though still small, these were mythical in nature and distinct due to their elemental traits. These beginner-level elemental creatures were listed from pages eleven to fifteen.

From page fifteen onward, the book featured intermediate beings—either larger, more advanced versions of normal creatures or stronger elemental beasts. These were more diverse in shape and size and made up nearly half the book.

Biron skipped to the end of the book. It went from page seventy-nine to one hundred—these were the legendary beasts. At times, the book contained only faint outlines of them and very little information. The entries were more for awareness, so students would know what they were and how to avoid them. These creatures were dangerous and often wild, many having abandoned their masters due to age or mistreatment.

"Remember, class," the teacher said, "if you ever encounter one of these elder and ancient beings, you have two choices: give up all your mana and live as a normal person, or be slain by them.

"They often choose the second option, as many are berserk. That's why we summoners always work in groups when visiting the high realms. Never—ever—make them mad. They are vengeful and often require sacrifice after sacrifice to pacify."

The teacher, who had been explaining as much as he could with the limited time remaining, glanced up at the large clock hanging over his board. With a tap of his wand, the words written on the board vanished.

"Well, that is all for today. You will now need to head to field training. Since most of you don't have a creature yet, you'll remain in beginner training until you successfully form your beast. Try to use everything I've taught you to achieve this. Don't worry if you fail during the first few months—the process is long, but the more time you devote to it, the greater your chances of creating an elemental summon."

The teacher coughed a few times before exiting the classroom first.

Everyone else, now mentally drained from the barrage of information, began packing up or shoving away their things. For Biron, who didn't have much to begin with, all he had to do was return the borrowed books and tear out the notes from his notebook, which somehow continued to sprout new pages.

Everything felt so convenient and new to Biron, but even with that, a new problem had emerged.

While he had tried his best to focus during class, the girl beside him kept making his gaze drift.

He sighed again, noticing she was still diligently taking notes. The large clock above the board, which he had learned would take a few more minutes to signal the class's true end, continued to tick.

"Say… Mirelia… do you have a summoned beast?" Biron asked the question that had been on his mind the most.

[I don't need it. I want a new one.]

The girl seemed to have one already, but something told him she didn't like it for some reason.

"What happens if you don't like it…?"

Biron asked. He had yet to learn what happened in such cases. All they had been taught today were the most effective ways to form their first creature and how to identify dangerous ones.

[Need fire elemental. If I don't have it, I don't need it. My family won't recognize me.]

The girl didn't lift her gaze from her notebook. She seemed completely focused on the words and diagrams filling each page. Biron glanced over and noticed that it was filled entirely with details about fire creatures—their traits, skin tones, whether they had spikes, fangs, or claws.

Everything was meticulously drawn and labeled. While Biron couldn't read all the written parts, he understood the sketches well enough.

"You're a pretty good artist…"

He tried his best to offer a compliment, though it came out too simple. It was ignored.

"Hey… Mirelia? I think class is about to—"

Before he could finish, the bell rang.

Everyone began to rise, and even the red-haired girl quickly finished her final sentence and packed everything into her bag. Unlike Biron, who had borrowed most of his supplies, she clearly came from a well-off family—one that could afford self-replenishing notebooks and personalized books.

Biron got up, trying to make time for the girl to finish packing—only to notice she was already taking steps toward the exit.

"Wait for me!"

The boy ran after her. He didn't actually know where they were supposed to go next and needed help finding the way. He chose to follow her, and soon the two of them reached the large field behind the school, taking about four minutes at the quick pace she kept.

Within the field, there were already several others practicing. They looked much older than the new students—some even appeared to be young adults clad in full armor and equipped with proper gear.

[I guess this is the new batch. Train hard, kids. I don't want to spook you, but the Highlanders from the south are starting to cause problems again. Maybe it'll be you all who are sent to scare them off.]

One of the adventurer-looking figures called out to the freshmen. A few of them even paused to take in the comment.

[There's no way they'll make us fight without summons, right?]

[Of course not. We won't even have time to train in the labyrinth—why would they make us fight?]

Everyone seemed to be speaking normally, but the insignia on Biron's chest translated everything into words he could understand, though the result carried a slightly robotic tone.

Biron didn't have time to dwell on the rumors and warnings. Right now, what mattered to him was figuring out why Mirelia was so deeply invested in her research.

He, along with most of the students from their class, began to form lines. This field session appeared to be overseen by at least four teachers, each one observing the students carefully and offering assistance as they attempted to summon their creatures.

Mirelia stood ahead of him in the line, preparing to summon hers. Biron watched closely, eager to see the reason behind her dislike for it.

And within a few seconds, he understood why.