The Summoner: Rise Of The Night Vanguard

Chapter 4: First Steps Towards Power

Adrian sat there for a second just staring at his own hands, still not fully believing any of this was real, and the first face that showed up in his head wasn't even Ruby's.

To hell with her! It was Smoke's.

"I'm coming for you" he muttered under his breath, and it felt good to say it out loud even if nobody heard it but him.

But he wasn't stupid enough to go looking for a fight right now. His mana was basically nothing, Noir was still at C-rank, and one bad move could end this second life before it even really started.

He'd already died once today and that was enough. He knew he needed to get stronger before he did anything else. He needed knowledge first.

He stood under the shower for a very long time, letting the water run down his back, scrubbing at skin that didn't even have a scratch on it anymore even though he could still feel the pain every kick had landed.

When he finally stepped out he threw on the cleanest clothes he still had, then dug under the bed for the old bank card he'd kept hidden from the debt collectors this whole time.

It has twenty thousand dollars, his last lifeline.

He actually laughed a little looking at the number. It was not much, but at least he has something to hold on to and nobody was going to take it from him this time.

He walked into some small restaurant down the street and ordered an actual meal of rice, grilled meat, vegetables, something cold to drink, and he was even happier with every bite knowing his money is now just for him and he doesn't have to worry about sending that to someone.

He has depended on noodles for four years now, just so she can be comfortable but now he didn't have to worry about her. Now he was a free man.

After that he went to a tech store and bought a cheap phone, the screen protector already lifting at one corner, cracked before he'd even touched it. It was not as flashy as other phones but it would be more than enough for what he wanted to do.

He also grabbed a couple sets of clothes too because he was tired of looking like a man who'd just crawled out of a dumpster.

The sun was already going down by the time he made it back to the apartment.

He sat on the edge of the bed, turning the phone over in his hands

"I'm free" he said out loud,

He then opened the browser and started digging through everything he could find on Summons and Summoners.

Mana was what connected a summoner to whatever they'd contracted. It ran through the body like a current, the more mana you had and the stronger that bond got the longer you could keep your summon out and the more power you could actually pull from it.

Most people had been building theirs up since they were kids. Adrian was starting from zero in his late teen years, and that thought alone was enough to make him wince.

Meditation, apparently, was the safest way to build up mana. Empty your head, focus on whatever's moving around inside you.

He sat cross-legged on the bed and gave it a shot but nothing was budging. His head kept dragging him back to everything that had happened and he had to physically shake his head to knock the images loose and start over.

Minutes passed by and when he still couldn't, he just gave up eventually and dropped flat onto the mattress, glaring at the ceiling.

"This is way harder than it looks" he muttered to himself.

Then it hit him. He still hadn't even looked around his own soul space properly. He had been learning information about summons in general when he hadn't even taken the time to observe his own Summon and soul space.

He shut his eyes again, this time chasing the pull he felt toward Noir, and letting his mind sink down into it.

When he opened his eyes he was standing in some massive black stone room, red flame burning along the walls in these tall torches, and Noir was sitting on a throne like chair with his broadsword propped against the armrest.

The knight immediately went on one knee the second he spotted Adrian.

"Nah, come on, you don't have to keep doing that," Adrian said, waving him back up.

"I'm just taking a look around."

Noir stood without a word, red smoke curling out from where his eyes should've been, just watching.

Adrian wandered through the place slowly, running a hand along the stone wall at one point. Then his eyes caught a huge sealed door off at the edge of the room, it was pure solid concrete with a glowing emblem of a shield crossed by a spear carved into its center.

"Was this... another knight?" he asked, mostly to himself, before turning to Noir.

"Is there another summon in there?"

Noir nodded once.

"Is it also a knight?"

Another nod, and Adrian's pulse picked up without him even meaning for it to.

Two summons?! If he could crack that door open his whole situation would change.

Everyone generally had only one summon. A smaller number of people were Dual summoners, having 2 summons. And only a handful of people were Tri summoners.

But it was sealed tight, and he already had a bad feeling about what it would take to open it.

Dungeon cores. Kill a dungeon boss gets you a core, and the core is used to upgrade your Summon making it more powerful. But he'd been back from the dead for what, a few hours? Entering a dungeon now was suicide especially since he didn't know what monster was waiting for him.

He dropped down onto the cold stone and pulled up Noir's status panel.

Name: Noir

Title: The Silent Shadow Knight

Current Rank: C-Rank

Potential Rank: Legendary

Class: Shadow Swordsman

Weapon: Shadow Greatsword

Affinity: Darkness

Description:

A mysterious knight born from the deepest shadows. A Shadow Knight sworn to The Night Vanguard. Noir speaks no words, yet his unwavering loyalty is absolute. He excels in close-quarters combat, overwhelming enemies with flawless swordsmanship, immense physical strength, and relentless discipline. Though only a C-Rank summon, the power sleeping within him is said to rival legendary beings. Upon activating Overdrive, his size increases, his armor turns blood red, his stats increase dramatically, and he can charge his broadsword for an incredibly powerful attack.

Skills:

Night Step – Instantly bursts through the shadows, leaving behind an afterimage while increasing movement speed. Ideal for dodging attacks or delivering unpredictable strikes.

Overdrive: [Locked]

Under his description, there was spaces that was indicated with a huge padlock, definitely indicating some of his other skills were still locked.

He read that word twice, the place where it said "Legendary."

Most summons never got past A or S rank even with a talented summoner behind them. Legendary was a whole different tier, worldwide there were only a few summoners at this level.

But if he kept feeding Noir the right cores this thing standing in front of him could end up strong enough to go toe to toe with anyone on the continent.

Even the skills carried over to him directly. Night Step, that shadow-burst movement thing, alone was worth more than anything he currently owned.

A notification popped up and it says:

[Quest Updated]

Defeat a Dungeon Boss and obtain a C-Rank Dungeon Core.

Reward:

C-Rank Dungeon Core, Night Vanguard Skill (Overdrive), Increase Physical Stat Attributes,Complete Mana Refill.

His face lit up reading through it, right up until he hit the last line.

Failure of Mission: Death Penalty.

Whatever excitement he had just dropped straight out of his chest.

Death Penalty? There was definitely no second chance waiting on the other side of it.

He thought for a while until suddenly, his hands curled into fists on their own.

"Fine," he said, quiet, almost daring the system to try him.

"Let's do it, then."

He'd take the mission. Find a dungeon, kill whatever was waiting in there, and take the dungeon core.

When he opened his eyes back in the real world it was pitch dark outside.

He sat up slowly and looked around at his half dead phone lying on the table.

Tomorrow, he'd start looking for a dungeon.

The Night Heir's path had officially begun!