Chapter 27: Summoning

“How long until they return to normal?”

The Ghost Maid tilted her head and gestured a bit. If Zheng Yichen understood correctly, it should be sometime in the afternoon, right?

Tsk, the intensity of this illusion was really high, to be able to last so long. After confirming the approximate time, Zheng Yichen continued practicing Magic while waiting. As for that Battle Qi thing, he basically held little hope for it.

After practicing so hard with Gravity Enhancement for so long, besides his physique and strength increasing rapidly, there was no other use at all. Not even his body size showed the slightest sign of growing.

He did not really care much about body size. Even though size sometimes related to destructive power, that did not always mean bigger was stronger. Loris currently had the appearance of a little girl, but in terms of strength, even ten of him stacked together would not be her match.

So it was better to focus on raising his Magic level first. Although using universal, fixed Rune Patterns was convenient, ever since he heard about the world after Reaching the Tier, Zheng Yichen no longer limited his focus to just the universal Magic Rune Arrays used before reaching the tier.

“Ugh… Where is this?” Petty woke up from her stupor and looked around in confusion. Coming to the Phantom Demon Forest was part of their semester’s practical training. This place was dangerous for ordinary people, but for Professionals, as long as they were prepared, it was a good place to temper their will.

Many students from Olin Academy would come here once. Originally, their training had been going smoothly. Although they were tormented by the illusion-inducing power for a long time, they ultimately endured it. Just as they were preparing to spend the final night and leave, the power affecting them, creating illusions, suddenly erupted violently.

Even though they had items to deal with the crisis, it could only temporarily delay the situation. If they could not leave the Phantom Demon Forest in time, they would definitely be dragged into endless illusions. On the way back, two classmates could no longer suppress the illusion’s influence and fell into madness…

Just as they were also teetering on the brink, a ferocious Evil Dragon head appeared in everyone’s sight. With the appearance of this dragon head, she felt as if the entire sky plunged into endless darkness.

The earth was torn apart by the frenzied forces between heaven and earth, and surging flames gushed out from the torn ground. Countless living beings wailed in agony under the shadow of the Evil Dragon’s wings.

Faced with such a cataclysmic display of power, they immediately broke down. Any thoughts of resisting the illusion, or helping classmates, were all thrown to the wind. The only idea left in their minds was to kill those monsters wreaking havoc and blocking the way under the dragon wings’ shadow, and flee far away from here!

This nightmare continued, until now when she woke up and realized it was just a nightmare. Even so, she broke out in a cold sweat. Sitting up, Petty looked in puzzlement at her still-unconscious classmates beside her, her small mouth agape in astonishment.

Having fallen into the madness of illusions, they actually survived? And they survived in the Phantom Demon Forest!

“Not bad. You are the one with the best constitution among this batch of newcomers.”

An unfamiliar voice sounded from behind Petty. She turned her head in terror to look. A dragon head was looking down at her from above, its opening and closing jaws looking as if they could bite her head off at any moment…

“Ah!! Don’t eat me!!”

“…What the heck?” Zheng Yichen lowered his head to look at Petty, who was hugging her head and shrinking like an ostrich. He scratched his head with a claw, scraping out a few small sparks. “I don’t eat people.”

“And p-please… don’t kill me!”

“I don’t kill people either!”

Hearing Zheng Yichen’s somewhat impatient voice, Petty still somewhat fearfully raised her head and looked at Zheng Yichen again. She rubbed her eyes several times in a row, as if to confirm whether she was still under an illusion.

“Anyway, since you’re awake, stay over there for now. You guys can form a team and leave lat… Hmm?” Looking at the Ghost Maid floating in front of him, Zheng Yichen felt puzzled. He looked at her gestures. “You need to leave for a bit? Coming back soon?”

The Ghost Maid nodded slightly and descended back to the ground. She walked towards the direction of the hidden Castle, her figure quickly fading and disappearing.

“Well~ After the others wake up, you can form a team and leave this place.” Zheng Yichen waved his hand and said the words that were interrupted earlier.

Petty looked at Zheng Yichen, hesitating to speak. Well, seeing that this dragon truly had no intention of harming them, her wildly thumping heart gradually calmed down. With less fear, what remained was overflowing curiosity.

What appeared before her was a living, breathing dragon!

Not the kind only seen in textbooks. As a Summoner, practically everyone had a dream… to Contract a dragon-type creature. Even a Lesser Dragon was a glorious thing, let alone a true member of the Dragon Clan.

Therefore, while others’ understanding of the Dragon Clan from textbooks might not be deep, Petty had already read through all the books about dragon knowledge she could access. With her ample theoretical knowledge, she recognized at a glance that the dragon before her was a genuine member of the Dragon Clan, not one of those Lesser Dragons.

As for the type… probably a Black Dragon?

Zheng Yichen’s Scales were rock black, slightly different from true black, so Petty could not completely determine if Zheng Yichen was indeed a Black Dragon.

“What can you summon?” Thinking it was boring, Zheng Yichen dispersed the Rune Patterns outlined with Mana at the center of his claw. He glanced at Petty, who had been secretly observing him, and asked. He was quite curious about what a Summoner could do…

“This…” Petty’s answer was somewhat hesitant. “I’m a first-year student, so I haven’t made contact with any powerful creatures yet. Ah! But I do have a summon!”

As she spoke, she observed Zheng Yichen’s reaction. Seeing he had no particular reaction, she suddenly felt uneasy. Did she talk too much? She closed her eyes in a fluster, seemingly communicating with some creature. Soon, a set of Rune Patterns appeared before her.

These Rune Patterns were not flat but 3D in form. Dense lines of Mana extended from the patterns, quickly constructing a figure. This figure rapidly turned substantial, becoming a… rabbit!?

Although it had a physical form, Zheng Yichen still sensed that this rabbit was at most a ‘Projection’ type of existence. Ignoring the strength aspect, other aspects were quite similar to the original.

The summoned rabbit cautiously looked around. Noticing the shadow enveloping it, it immediately raised its head and came face to face with Zheng Yichen…