Chương 18: Summoner In A Soul Space

"No!" Ace declined sharply, unbinding Armin's swords carefully.

"Show me my stats instead."

—[Host Status Window]—

Host: Ace Kiryū

Age: 17

Race: ░░░░░░

Class: Unidentified

Level: 5

—STATS—

-Strength: 75

-Agility: 27

-Intelligence: 70

-Endurance: 32

-Exp(to next level): 0/2000

-Mana: 70/100

-Stat points- [50]

"The weakest stats need some upgrade for now." He mused to himself, stroking his chin like one of the prominent wise-men in the holy book.

He distributed his free stat points into generous but unequal parts to balance it up, and with a slight nod, he approved of what he had done, satisfied with the outcome.

[Updated Stats]

-Strength: 75(+10)

-Agility: 27(+20)

-Intelligence: 70(+10)

-Endurance: 32(+10)

The loot from the defeated mob monster was stored in a storage ring which the system tagged as— inventory.

Damien forged towards him, limping on one foot while tightening his grip on his right arm that bore an ugly cut. His face was extremely battered— a river of blood sprawling out in streaks from his right nose, a swollen lip and extremely disheveled hair— a testament to the slick slams the titan snake had whooped against his butt but he was somehow alive.

"Stealing all the loot after stealing the kill?" Damien said, his voice cutting through the now silent dungeon like a knife.

"Ace took down the beast on his own." Dawn chided, breaking into the conversation. "It's only right he takes all the loot."

Damien chuckled, forcing himself to hide the bitterness sprouting in his mind. Mere looking at Ace, he wanted to crush him with his eyes. After all, Dawn had suddenly taken Ace's side instead of his.

"There's no law that says the tamer can keep all the goodies from his summon." He continued, a sheen of sweat glistering on his brow.

Armin finally joined in, walking towards Ace and collecting his swords. "Entitlement should be based on the effort you put into work; there are no rights to rewards for what you haven't earned."

"What a guild!" Damien grumbled, walking away to pick up his dagger.

"Now that the second floor is cleared, should we be expecting a groundbreaking third floor?" Ace asked, a little curious of what was to come next.

"It's our first time too, Ace." Armin replied. "I hope the next floor's bestial tide does not clip my wings like the titan snake did."

They began to walk towards a wall in an attempt to find an exit from the second floor. Damien, unable to stand the presence of the other party's as he suddenly found them annoying, took the lead.

Ace shrugged a little, his eyes landing on Dawn who was walking right in front of him. Her phoenix wings were still broken and they were starting to fade out a bit.

Perhaps it was her mana core that was weakened or her strength was still failing. Seeing her fragile fold made him recall how he would have died earlier if she had not summoned her wings during their fall from the dungeon's grand floor.

"Here!" He called her attention, stretching out two potions at her. A mana potion and health elixir potion.

She turned around, a little taken aback by his gesture. But in the end, she accepted them gracefully, muttering a slight thank you as a wrap.

"What's going on with you both? We don't have all day to spend here!" Armin, who was also walking ahead, called out carelessly.

Ace gave him a quick wave, ready to continue walking, but the moment he took the next step, the ground quivered, shooting out life forces out of it at once.

Instinctively, Ace lurched forward, grabbing Dawn's arm as she almost got hit by one of the forces. The elixir potions in her hands slipped, falling out of her hold as Ace pulled her to himself.

"Ace!" Armin shouted, stepping out of the way as more life forces shot out from beneath the ground, forming hard pillars between the members.

This ground continued to quiver, pulling all four of them off balance as they glided against the rocky floors. The pillars towered up to the roof of the second floor, creating a straight division line with rubbles building up and forming more pillars.

Soon, the tide was over. The coast settled and so did the quivering rocks that threatened to fall and bury them alive.

~×~×~

Ace coughed as he reeled from the dungeon's attack, the dust settling around them blinding his view for a bit. He grunted, trying his possible best to sit up, but he felt weaker the more he tried.

He could feel a moist sensation in his palms, but before he could read what it was, his eyes landed on Dawn's body that was two feet away from where he was.

"What has happened?" He questioned the void like he would actually get an answer.

The last thing he had remembered before he blacked out was pulling Dawn from the wall's attack and she had fallen over him with a save. But why was she lying away from him?

The more he tried to wrap his head around what was going on, the more condensing the situation seemed. He could notice a stream streak out from where Dawn laid, his eyes glistering in surprise as he realized what it was.

Dawn was bleeding and to top the cake with a cherry, she seemed lifeless.

Then the moist feeling in his hand resonated in his mind. His gaze crawled towards his hands slowly, his heart racing faster as he lowered his gaze, his hope tugging on what he dreads must have actually happened.

Alas, his hands were covered in blood. Supposedly, Dawn's blood. His mind bled, his reasoning crawling out disordinatedly. He couldn't put things together to understand what had happened behind the walls.

In a minute, he could feel the dungeon walls shift, enclosing him in a vast soulless space. The sky, bathed in a dark blue hue with countless stars orbiting the daunting domain, was still and cold.

Soon, he realized he was standing in an orbit filled with an expanse of divinity. The ground he was stepping on was not solid, but rather it seemed more like a mana whirlpool stable enough to hold his weight or even more.

With confusion clearly glistering in his mind, he twirled about, hoping to find answers to what was suddenly happening until he felt a daunting presence evolve into the space.

A swirling mist enveloped him, breaking out his neck-piece as it crackled with ethereal energy.

As the mist began to part, a low growl shrouded through the space, piercing yellow eyes, deep and ancient, appearing out of a rift, pulling its weight through without constraint.

Ace could feel wades of wings unfurl majestically, casting a shadow over him as the creature let out a low, resonant growl that echoed through the air, forcing his hair to flutter with the wind.

Trapped in the heat, he awaited what was to come, though it didn't feel entirely new to him for some reasons until the creature spoke to him with all modesty, bowing its head lowly at Ace despite its imposing figure.

"Master!"