Grand Summoner Council

Darkness surrounded Boy, swallowing him whole.

There was no sound, no pain- only emptiness. Time felt like an illusion, stretching endlessly in the void.

What… happened? Am I back here again?

Fragments of memory floated through his mind like shattered glass.

The farm… the wolves… the fight… the farmer's face twisting in anger as he ridiculed him. The sharp pain that followed…

He could almost feel the cold steel piercing through his body again.

Did I die?

Just then, a spark.

'Ugh…' 

Boy slowly shook awake as his senses slowly returned, the heavy weight of reality pressing down on him as his mind, albeit struggling, slowly began to piece together the fragments of memory. 

The betrayal. The pain. The farmer's enraged face.

The overwhelming feeling of helplessness.

His eyes snapped open, his vision blurred by the sudden brightness but quickly adjusted to the familiar sight of the dense forest canopy above him. He had appeared back at the same location where he got into the summoning circle.

The memories of his death at the hands of the farmer surged forward, filling him with a cold rage as frustration filled his thoughts.

I fought for him… I won… And yet, I was discarded like nothing more than trash…

The realisation dug deep into his heart.

'Why am I seen like that…' he pondered in remorse, 'Humans… They are all the same…'

The betrayal solidified one thing in his mind - trust was a weakness, and strength was the only thing that mattered. 

'I need to get strong enough to never be controlled ever again…'

He took a moment to analyse his surroundings. The forest was quiet, eerily so, a stark contrast from the forest in the human realm. 

Slowly, he stood up, his resolve stronger than ever.

[Ding! Trait acquired: Telepathy (E)]

'Huh,' Boy's thoughts echoed in his own mind, 'Telepathy? What does that mean?'

[Telepathy (E):

Allows basic communication with nearby creatures within a 10-metre radius. Requires focus to maintain communication.]

[Host, Evolution Milestone is approaching. Upon reaching Level 10, you will no longer be able to level up before successfully evolving. Please, decide on your evolution path before that.]

Reading the new notification that arrived, a hunger was ignited deep inside him. He couldn't afford to be weak anymore. He had to become the strongest summon that had ever existed.

'No more holding back… I will evolve, and I will find the strongest being in this world and evolve into that. Then… then I will… never be used again.'

Boy then pulled up his system interface, scanning his skills and levels as he considered what to use the skill upgrade that he had obtained on.

In looking over it, he saw one option that immediately enticed him and without hesitation, he selected it.

[Ding! Skill "Shadows of the Pack" has been upgraded from E to D.]

[Shadows of the Pack (D):

Summons two shadow clones of yourself that you can manipulate and control for 1 minute. The clone contains 25% of your overall strength and all experience gained by the clone will be transferred to you upon reaching the time limit. Skill cannot be used again while active.]

Almost immediately, Boy took a deep breath and activated his skill, eager to test his newly upgraded ability.

Shadows of the Pack!

Dark tendrils slithered out from beneath his paws, coalescing into two identical copies of himself. As they formed, a familiar sensation tugged at his mind.

A mental link connected them all as he found himself able to intuitively command the clones. He made them dash around and spar against each other and he found that they were faster, and took on more of his stats than before.

'You guys are definitely better…' he thought with a pleased expression as while they were still unable to use any skills, they were a lot stronger and the increased duration was a huge boost which would allow him to make even more use of this.

And thirty seconds later, the shadows disappeared, Boy was met with another notification from the system which popped up in his face.

[Ding! New Mission Assigned: "Strength Above All"]

["Strength Above All", Mission:

Level up all core skills to D Rank (Not Completed)

Defeat 50 beasts (0/50)

Reward: 50 stat points, 10000 exp, 500AP]

Boy bared his fangs, his eyes burning with an increasing determination as he read the mission. And as he read this, another notification came up.

[Ding! Note: No summoning circles may be used during the period of this mission otherwise, it will result in the failure of this mission.]

Boy let out a smile as this notice was something that actually supported his plans as he did not plan to head into any other summoning circles before he was sure that he was strong enough.

Thus, a whole lot of hunting, fighting, and killing lay ahead of him. And Boy was going to make sure that by the end of it, no beast would stand in his way.

...

About three years before today in Terranis…

Deep within the capital of Solmar stood the grand hall of the Summoner Council.

Its towering halls were built to instill awe and reverence. 

Massive stone pillars lined the chamber, carved with the symbols and statues of the great summoning heroes of the past. Ethereal lights floated overhead, illuminating the long, crescent-shaped table where the nine lights, symbols of power in the Alliance of Concordia, sat- archmages, nobles, and kings, each representing their respective kingdoms and factions.

Master Eldric the Ethereal, the Third Light, stood in the centre of the hall, clad in his worn traveler's cloak with his long silver hair tied loosely behind him. His once-pristine robes were frayed at the edges, and his eyes, once filled with confidence, now burned with a desperate intensity. 

He held in his trembling hand, a crystalline artifact whose soft glow was casting eerie reflections on the council chamber walls.

Murmurs grew louder among the council as Eldric cleared his throat.

"Third Light, Eldric," Morwen, the head of the council, leaned forward, her stern golden eyes narrowing with dissatisfaction, "You stand before us now, spouting doomsday prophecies. This is highly irregular."

Eldric took a deep breath, his voice steady but urgent as he spoke, "Second Light, I have seen the future. A great disaster will befall us! The convergence of the realms is coming."

His voice wavered, the weight of the visions that he had seen, pressing down on him, "The barriers are going to weaken. If we do not act, the consequences will be irreversible!"

At this, the council members exchanged skeptical glances, some shaking their heads while others whispered among themselves.

Belath, the Forth Light and an old rival of Eldric, scoffed, "Visions? Premonitions?"

"We have heard such nonsense before. We are the guardians of these realms, Eldric! We are the power that protects this realm. The barriers are intact, and our summoning rituals remain in full control!"

Eldric stepped forward, his grip tightening on the artifact, "You don't understand. I have been researching the history of the three realms. In my study, I found a ruin that had paintings and objects that dated back further than we have ever known."

He then brought up the artifact that had been in his hands and ran his Aether through it...