The Extra System: Summoner of Shadows

Cedric accepted his new life in this world, despite its dangers, for one reason: leveling. The concept of farming monsters and raising his level intrigued him more than the freedom he had obtained in this world.

[Lava Larva (Level 15)] 

[Lava Larva (Level 17)] 

[Lava Larva (Level 16)]

The first thing Cedric saw when he left his Starting Chambers were these creatures crawling on the walls. To test their abilities, he sent his Armored Golem running through the corridor.

Pew! 

Sss! 

Pew! 

Sss!

With an obnoxiously cute sound, the larvae spat lava at his summoned creature. The golem managed to evade them thanks to Cedric's control using his Observe Skill. However, a single hit would be fatal for either of them.

"Can I borrow your spear?" Cedric asked his golem, who offered its spear without hesitation. However, Cedric was unable to grab the ethereal spear as his hand simply passed through it. "You will have to suffer a little, Golem."

The golem did not understand what he was saying, but Cedric raised a hand to control it. Using the contract binding them and his Observe Skill, he began directing the golem. The armored creature bolted forward, piercing with its spear.

It managed to hit one larva, killing it. Cedric saw another one shooting its lava shot toward the golem and commanded it to retreat. However, the golem was still hit due to Cedric's weak control over it.

The lava tore through the armor, melting it instantly. Instead of retreating, Cedric ordered his soldier to push forward and kill the other two, regardless of the consequences. Their cries echoed in the hallway as they fell to the ground, defeated.

[You have slain Lava Larva (Level 15)] 

[You have slain Lava Larva (Level 17)] 

[You have slain Lava Larva (Level 16)] 

[You have leveled up!] 

[Your summoned creature Armored Golem (Level 20) has died.]

Cedric stood motionless as he watched the golem fall to the ground, its body dissipating. Then, it turned to Cedric as the unsummoning began. Something in the helmet's slits seemed to move the summoner, and he bowed.

"Thank you for giving me your life."

After that, the summoned monster disappeared from existence. Cedric sighed as he felt a little guilty for using the monster in that way but shook off the feeling. It wasn't dead, just no longer part of this world.

In any case, he had gained a level thanks to the golem's sacrifice. He invested the class stat point into Projection, hoping his new monster would be able to use more of its powers. At the same time, he invested one point into his mana.

[Status Menu] 

[Name: Cedric Everhart] 

[Age: 18] 

[Level: 18] 

[Health: 210/210] 

[Mana: 26/37] 

[Reputation: -371] 

[Class: Summoner] 

[Affinity: None] 

[Physique: None] 

[Titles: Vain Prince, Deadbeat Son, Masochist of Elaris] 

[Physical Stats - Allocation Points: 0] 

[Vitality: 21] 

[Strength: 23] 

[Agility: 29] 

[Endurance: 26] 

[Dexterity: 23] 

[Willpower: 17] 

[Intelligence: 37] 

[Charisma: 19] 

[Class Stats – Allocation Points: 0] 

[Attraction: 8] 

[Duration: 2] 

[Projection: 3] 

[Link: 6] 

[Harmony: 3]

A smile appeared on his face as he admired his hard work. He had gained five levels in the past three days. It was a small increase in his stats but a major change in his fighting power. At the very least, he could now summon monsters.

Cedric once again used Lesser Summon. The skill activated, and the summoning began, consuming eleven points of his mana. The process took a while this time, but no monster appeared despite waiting for five minutes.

[Summoning has failed.]

"I didn't know a summoning could fail," muttered Cedric, but he wasn't to blame. The novel didn't explain much about summoners and their skills. "Is it because I have a weak skill?"

Cedric could only attribute it to his skill being E-rank. As he mourned the third of his mana that had disappeared, he summoned another monster. This time, it succeeded.

A different creature than before appeared, resembling a small cat with horns and wings. Cedric was confused as he crouched to look at it, sensing intelligence in its observing eyes.

[You have summoned a Djinn Cat (Level 20)] 

[Djinn Cat (Level 20) has recognized you as its contractor.]

"Huh? Just like that? I don't need to soften it up with my words?" muttered Cedric in surprise as he looked at the cat, which was black with red eyes and white wings. It looked cute, and Cedric wondered if it had any fighting powers.

"Alright, Djinn," muttered Cedric as he rose from the ground. "Let's keep hunting for now. Time to see what kind of abilities you have."

The cat yawned and began walking in front of him. Cedric was a little confused by this summoned monster, but he followed after it. Beyond the hallway was the first Challenge Chamber—a hall filled with statues of soldiers and knights.

Cedric stopped at the beginning of the hall and looked around. Seeing no monster, he decided to use his Observe Skill to examine the statues. Sure enough, he uncovered the challenge of this chamber in seconds.

Three of the statues were alive.

[Stone Statue (Level 19)] 

[Stone Statue (Level 17)] 

[Stone Statue (Level 18)]

These three had holographic panels above them as Cedric looked around. Sure enough, a normal person wouldn't be able to see through their disguise. There wasn't even a whiff of mana.

"Djinn Cat, attack those three," commanded Cedric. The cat flapped its wings, rose into the air, and lightning gathered around its horns. In the next instant, three bolts of lightning shot from its head and struck the statues.

Boom!

The statues shattered to dust simultaneously, and Cedric received notifications that he had slain the monsters. However, he didn't level up this time since they were the same level as him.

Cedric was confused as he stared at the crumbling statues. The cat descended from the air and landed beside him, still yawning while awaiting his next command.

"This cat is terrifyingly strong," muttered Cedric with a shallow laugh. Of course, he knew that came at the expense of her defensive capabilities and physical attacks, but it was still stronger than the armored knight from before. "But they were the same level. Can there be different ranks for summoned monsters other than their levels?"

No one could answer his questions, so he decided to enjoy his victory for now. Although his Observe Skill made things easier for the cat, Cedric was still satisfied with its strength. However, he had yet to level up.

Cedric knew that he would obtain a class skill every ten levels. If he could level up two more times, he would gain a new summoning-related skill. His excitement was palpable as he walked toward the next room.

Before he reached the end, Cedric frowned and stopped mid-step. His Observe Skill had picked up a trap right in front of the door. He retreated and picked up a small rock, throwing it onto the plate.

The plate sank into the ground as spikes rose from it. The metallic projections were covered in a strange liquid, which Cedric guessed to be poison. He sighed in relief as the cat looked at him in confusion.

"Your master is amazing, right?" he asked, but the cat yawned again before walking around the spikes and going through the door. Cedric was again puzzled by why his summoned creature seemed to be this intelligent.

Before leaving the room, Cedric picked up a weapon from one of the statues. Although they were there as a decoy, the sword was still sharp. He was itching to fight himself instead of letting his summoned creature do all the work.

"Here I come, Level 20!"