Summoning The Dogs
Waking up in the middle of the night, Adam rolled off his sleeping bag and emptied everything in his guts.
What he did took too much strain on his body, but he couldn't stop and had no intention to. His psyche was pushed to the limit, and his sanity was suffering from bad dreams and difficult memories surging up.
He didn't realize the meaning of getting pushed to the edge of sanity until now. It is like the brain had a capacity he never knew existed, and with every new summon.
So far, it has been 10 hours since he summoned Sergeant Elena before attempting to do an incredible thing: summoning a Refinery Rig.
He had the puppet—if it is appropriate to call it that—only a trophy pencil sharpener as it was, but it was something almost akin to a real Refinery Rig from the game, colored and in excellent condition, as Kave never really used it.
And the result?
"Glory to Sol Imperius!"
Sergeant Elena stood in front of the huge machine, fist raised, posture proud, and eyes glaring, invoking the name of Sol Imperius, as Kave was picking up Adam from the ground.
The refinery rig was summoned the same way as Elena; however, the light aura that machine originated from was so large it almost blinded everyone, and with a loud THUUUD, it sank into the ground, sending tremors across the suburban area where it was installed.
≪ You have gained 1 EXP! ≫
The thing must have weighed tons, and it even attracted the Star Paladin, who was almost a mile away from the place, as he returned to see a scene that made him halt his steps.
Not only had Adam managed to summon a Sergeant of the Men-at-Arms of Venus, but he even turned a Refinery Rig model into a real one.
Captain Creed approached the camp of now three individuals and spoke to Elena and Kave as Adam was unconscious again.
He heard from Kave that, if possible, they would try to set up a Men-at-Arms outpost in this area that he secured, away from the heart of the monster-infested city.
Sergeant Elena greeted the Paladin very solemnly and respectfully, addressing him as "Lord," and explained to him that they chose this place to build their foothold since it was on a hill, had good advantages, was rich with natural resources, and very exposed to sunlight.
"And you decided to establish a permanent outpost, Sergeant? With the otherworlders?" Creed asked.
"Yes, sir. A permanent base, if possible; this is still a work in progress. We lack the most basic of needs. Hopefully, with this Rig connected to power, we can cover the materials situation."
The Paladin looked at the Rig once again, then at Sergeant Elena, before having a thought that weighed on his mind.
What Adam told him the they first met is that he thinks he is responsible for summoning him to this world. Adam believed the words he said, which may not have triggered the lying detector that is Creed's Golden Fiery Eyes. However, with two other summons from his world standing in front of his very eyes, Creed realized that Adam wasn't talking nonsense.
Such a thing could have serious implications for this world and the other one. Away from Urd, Creed could only speculate without being certain, but if Adam was to summon a big number here on Earth, it wouldn't even dent the power of Solarium back on Urd, but it may cause problems nonetheless.
For that, a question was necessary.
"Tell me, Sergeant. Before you came to this world, what was the last thing you remember?" He asked.
Elena paused as she went into deep thinking and had an obvious frown on her face.
"It was daybreak; we were being dispatched en masse to Titan since the Duke had just perfected a new project to spread a hexdome shield all over his planet, an artificial atmosphere as I understood it. It was a new feeling since we could march on such harsh lands without life support and…"
"Demons attacked?" Creed asked.
"Yes." Elena had a surge of memories return and looked at Creed, "You were there, my lord?"
"Negative. I reviewed the mission report. Upon arrival in orbit, we found Titan lost. An incursion was underway. Half of the Duke's household had turned against the Solarium, and the Duke himself was slain by traitors."
"Ah… I see…" Elena said and nodded after a pause in realization, "I assume I didn't make it then…"
"Indeed. Seven Men-at-Arms regiments were lost. The Army of the Sun bears the wound still. This incursion lasted fourteen years, and according to Adam, I died at the Pale Gate at the end of the war."
Creed's words made the sergeant frown hard before nodding.
"So this is like our Eternal Peace, my Lord?" She asked.
"An hour ago, I was almost sure of it. Now, I am not. I have never heard about two souls from the Solarium sharing Eternal Peace together," he said.
"If I may be so bold, my Lord, no one knows what an Eternal Peace is—I mean no heresy, of course—but to me, I feel it is something a bit different."
The Paladin looked at her, with the mechanical speaker of his helmet conveying how he grunted while thinking.
"I am listening."
Sergeant Skarn looked sharply at the Paladin before reporting what she found.
"I have experience in dealing with HereTechs, as I was tasked with dismantling the Fossil Pits of an environmental terrorist cult before. When I was shown to the power generator of this place, I stumbled upon an artifact almost similar to what I found at that mission once."
"I had my suspicions that this is a Fossil civilization, but it is far from having a fossil cataclysm since they are completely invaded," the Paladin said.
"But, my Lord, the resemblance between the artifact I came across and the ones I dismantled on Urd was simply uncanny."
"What are you trying to say, sergeant?"
Elena paused for a while before speaking.
"I think we didn't find Eternal Peace, my Lord. I think… we are in the Dark Fossil Age."
Elena chose her words carefully before continuing:
"We are still on Urd, sir, just thousands of years in the past."
The Star Paladin would have refuted what she said if it wasn't already weighing on his mind. He looked at Adam, who was resting after draining himself again, and Kave, who was helping him.
"If this is true, we bear the responsibility of serving the Solarium and guiding those who uphold its ideals."
"This may also come as Heresy, sir, but the holy birth of Sol Imperius is still thousands of years in the future. On what basis would there be a Solarium?"
"The Solarium was not founded by Sol Imperius, Sergeant, it was by his father, Prince Kamaru Adawala, the unifier of Urd. The Solarium started with a mortal man, but he was father to the Imperial Sun, as the Sun was the mother." Being a zealot paladin, Creed preached to Elena.
"Blessed be his hallowed name!" Elena said in reverence, kissing the side of her index before touching the symbol of the winged sun on her cap.
What he meant is that the Solarium can exist without Sol Imperius, as it was founded before him.
"I'll leave them in your hands, Sergeant. A Venuxian Sergeant will surely make real men of two desperate survivors," Creed said, looking at the survivors.
Elena also turned to face the two Earthling youth.
"That's the thing, my Lord. If they really are survivors who made it through madness for a hundred days, then I have great expectations for these two."
°°°
≪ You have gained 1 EXP! ≫
≪ You have gained 1 EXP! ≫
As Adam woke up for yet another collapse, he seemed pale, shivering, and at his biological limits of magic use.
He didn't just summon Elena and the Refinery Rig at this point; he did so much more to the point where he was now waking up in a standard-issue Man-at-Arms tent.
He crawled out of the narrow yet cozy tent, and as he started to stand up on solid ground, with a dizzy head, echoing voices, and blurry vision, five pairs of eyes landed on him.
Kave, Sergeant Elena, Corporal Stone, Private Hammerhead, Private Dusty, and Private Biscuits. That was a full fire team. Excluding Kave, there's a Sergeant Mechanic, a Corporal Grunt, a Private Medic, and two Private Auxiliary men.
Adam looked at the group that stopped that murmur when he walked out, and before he could stagger, the old man called Dusty caught him from the side and helped him sit on the trunk by the fire.
"Heard tell that you brought all this group and the big rig over yonder. Mighty impressive, Commander, for one so young," Dusty spoke in a scruffy and wheezy voice.
"Thanks, Mr. Dusty." Adam smiled at old man Dusty and accepted what seemed to be a bland drink made from some herbs.
"Man! This is exciting! The things one can find out here in the wild! Commander, you drink that, and you'll be right as rain!"
Sitting by the campfire, the female medic called Biscuits pointed at the cup in Adam's hand, as she was the one who brewed it. She was scrawny and small, wearing an icecap, and looked less like a Solarium man-at-arms and more like a survivor.
"What's in it?" Adam asked.
"Honestly, nothing poisonous since I'm still alive, but one of the ingredients was numbing to the tongue a bit, so I assume it can be good for pain," Biscuits said.
While Adam was a bit skeptical about drinking, Elena encouraged him.
"Biscuits can identify any sort of ingredients once she tastes them, as well as the four effects they may have. We used her to tell if our MREs have any human remains mixed in," Elena said.
As she said so, Biscuits clarified immediately:
"Well now, human remains, they're just no good for your health, and sometimes, oh dear, they can cause a nasty paralysis! But those cheeky ones dabbling in demon arts and skulking about, they say human flesh can give 'em a bit of a boost, wouldn't you know!"
"Feels like I have heard that somewhere before," Kave mumbled.
"So long as I don't get diarrhea," Adam laughed and started sipping.
"That's the spirit, Commander," Stone said, the large, tan-skinned corporal grunt who carried an LMG Blazer.
"Right, right. No disrespect, Commander, but we need ya on the double, ASAP. Skull that, and let's talk business, aye?"
The last one to speak was Hammerhead, the guy with the big forehead and tall athletic body, who seemed to have been doing most of the work around the place.
"Alright." Adam nodded and swallowed the whole thing in one go.
"Easy there, champ!"
Biscuits said as it seemed rather hot, but Adam only burped and shook his head to regain focus.
"That hit the spot," Adam said, and looked at the metal cup, which had his image reflected on it.
He looked closely and then opened his Status Window.
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Name — Adam Clay
Role — Survivor
Class — Sorcerer
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Statistics (EXP: 4)
Might — 3 [+]
Trick — 3 [+]
Spirit — 3 [+]
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Skills
— Artifice (IX)
— Cook (V)
— Charisma (IV)
— Firearms (II)
— Psyche (III)
— Sanity (II)
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Powers
— Font of Magic (Class)
— Puppeteer Rune
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Seeing as he has finally gathered 4 EXP, it meant that his summoning was finally getting better, so he decided to spend them all to raise his "Spirit" by 1 point.
His head suddenly became clearer, and his consciousness felt like it was expanding into the once locked domain of his head. Somehow, he estimated that he could summon Men-at-Arms without collapsing after each summon now.
The fact that he survived summoning Captain Creed by itself is still a miracle that he can't explain.
"Now, that's a bright face for sure. Told you my brews do wonders," Biscuits commented.
"Aye! Thanks, Biscuits."
Adam stood up, finally feeling able to walk on his own, and let Biscuits take credit for his recovery.
Now, he had to direct his attention elsewhere. There is a Refinery Rig that needs powering up and a base that needs building.
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