CHAPTER 132: CHAPTER 132: SUMMONING

After class ended, William and Lia walked together through the hallways to the cafeteria. Though the atmosphere in the classroom had been tense, now the students’ voices were a distant murmur.

The smell of freshly baked bread and spicy stews filled the air, but William barely noticed it. He was still thinking about the panther the professor had summoned, about the symbol on her palm... and what that implied.

They sat at a table in the back, as always, away from curious eyes.

"William...," Lia began softly, sipping her juice. "What happened yesterday? You were gone... and when you arrived today... it was all very strange."

William swallowed before answering. He couldn’t tell her everything. Not yet.

"It was just a misunderstanding," he finally said, offering a slight smile. "But everything’s fine now. Don’t worry."

Lia eyed him, as if in doubt. But she decided not to press.

"Okay..."

They ate in silence for a few minutes. Then William leaned slightly towards her, his tone more lively.

"What about you? How are your spells coming along? And meditation? Is there anything I can help you with?"

Lia sighed, pushing some potatoes around her plate with a fork.

"I do it every day. When I’m not in class, I’m meditating or studying in the library. But... I’m not progressing. I feel stuck. Like something’s missing."

William nodded in understanding.

"It’s normal to feel that way sometimes. But don’t give up. Everything you’re doing... will eventually pay off. The important thing is not to stop."

Lia smiled at him, though without much conviction.

"Thanks. Sometimes I need to hear that."

"Oh, by the way...," William added, taking a drink of water. "I have a new place. Master Aurus left me a lab."

"Really?" she asked with a mix of surprise and excitement.

"Yes. It’s private. Quite large. I planned to go every day, study there, train... But the problem is access is restricted. I can’t bring companions yet... I’m sorry."

"Don’t worry," Lia said with a sincere smile. "Really. I’ll go to the library as always. I’ll train and study. You don’t need to feel guilty about it."

William nodded with a calm expression. But a part of him did feel guilty. She didn’t know what he faced, nor what he was hiding.

Finishing their meal, they both stood. At the entrance, Lia leaned in and kissed him tenderly.

"See you later," she whispered.

"Take care," William replied.

They both walked in opposite directions. After a few moments, he could feel it: someone was following them, and they were quite good, as he couldn’t pinpoint them.

"Angel, can you locate the rat following us?"

"I’ve identified them. They’re staying 200 meters from us. It’s quite strange, as they’re a level 1 mage. I don’t understand why they’d follow us."

Hearing this, William didn’t turn around. If it was a full mage, he wouldn’t stand a chance unless he revealed his cards, and it wasn’t time to expose himself yet. So, he didn’t change his pace. He just walked to the nearest portal as if he hadn’t noticed anything. Once in front of the platform, he activated the crystal with his necklace and was instantly transported.

In the Private Laboratory

Calm greeted him with absolute silence. There, Angel spoke to him instantly.

"All good?"

"Yes, I just thought that person might try something while I was transporting, but let’s not talk about that... Before going back, I want to check all the books in this place. I don’t know what I might find."

"Good idea," Angel replied. "Aurus might have left something useful."

William walked through the lab’s corridors. The shelves were packed. He took one of the books and began to flip through it. He quickly noticed the pattern.

"This is... alchemy. Potion data. Complex formulations."

"Can you read it?"

"Yes... but I don’t fully understand it. It reminds me of chemistry from my old world. But it wasn’t my strong suit."

"We can study together," Angel suggested. "Maybe if we break them down, we can adapt them into something more useful."

William nodded and continued reading for a few hours. He took notes on what he could, memorizing symbols and reactions. Though he understood little, his mind wasn’t the same as before. His analytical ability had improved after each training, each experience in the Nightmare Realm.

But in the end, he put the book down on the table.

"Enough for now. It won’t bring me anything useful if I don’t have a body that understands it. I need to train... and I’ll do it there."

Angel didn’t respond. She knew which world he was referring to.

Getting into position, he cast all his spells one after another, emptying his gray energy. William sat in a chair and closed his eyes, activating the spell...

And vanished into the shadows, reappearing in his room, right in the heart of Anubis’s castle.

William quickly changed his magic robe for a lighter training tunic, and opening the door...

He found Anubis, three of his jackal maidservants, and the three humans he had rescued. They were all there, standing, as if they had been waiting for hours.

No one spoke.

The maidservants bowed respectfully. The humans didn’t move. They just stared at him, trying to understand who or what this young man was who had emerged from the room everyone feared approaching.

Anubis let out a long sigh of relief.

"Thank the abyss...," he murmured. "I thought you wouldn’t make it. Your body... didn’t stop convulsing for hours. The energy... was too unstable. I’ve never seen such a... violent evolution."

William merely nodded, his face tired but firm.

"I’m fine," he said softly, gesturing with his hand. "Come, I want to try something."

They crossed several corridors until they reached an open section of the castle. William stopped in the center, raised his arm, and began to reveal it.

Everyone watched in silence.

His forearm was covered in marks. Drawings that looked like fire-engraved tattoos. There were the shapes of all the enemies he had defeated and absorbed: the hellhounds, the lizard knight... and now, the head of the stone golem, marked with thick outlines, like a newly forged emblem.

The curious thing was the color: all the marks had a dull grayish tone, except for three figures: a snake, a bear, and a wolf. These three were intensely black, like living ink. As if they were still active.

William frowned.

"I’m going to try something," he murmured.

Anubis watched him carefully.

William extended his hand, recalling Master Erilyn’s spell.

"Ego vincio anima... pactum aeternae...," he repeated firmly.

But nothing happened. The air didn’t stir, and no creature emerged.

He tried again. And again. Without success.

Confused, he lowered his arm as Angel spoke calmly in his mind.

"It’s possible your bond... doesn’t work with that spell. Your marks are different. They’re linked to nightmare energy, not traditional magic pacts."

William closed his eyes. He took a deep breath.

"Then I won’t use the spell."

He raised his arm, focused his thoughts on the black bear tattoo, and concentrated completely.

A faint hum vibrated in his arm. The marks began to float, separating from his skin like liquid shadows. One by one, the drawn figures rose, floating in the air as if ready to be called.

Turning to look at the others, he saw that their faces held an expression of confusion as if they didn’t know what he was attempting, realizing that they couldn’t see what was happening; it was as if the figures he saw floating in front of him weren’t real and only he could see them.

William extended his hand towards the image of the bear.

He felt a pull in his chest. Something hot came out of his palm, like a torrent of dense, primitive energy. A dull roar filled the air. Suddenly, the ground trembled.

A ring of dark smoke expanded around William, and an instant later, an enormous nightmare bear emerged with a devastating bellow. It had the same red, empty eyes as before, but now... it obeyed.

The creature prostrated itself before him, bowing its head like a domesticated beast.

The humans screamed in fear and backed away. The maidservants instinctively knelt.

And Anubis just smiled, amazed.

"That... isn’t a simple bond. You’ve brought it back. But not as a corpse; it’s impressive. I’d never heard of an ability capable of bringing beasts back from the grave; it’s interesting."

As he said this, Anubis approached the giant bear, stroking and examining it, as if observing a new toy.

William said nothing. He looked at the bear with a serious expression, while Angel whispered:

"It’s not a soul contract... It’s a mark of dominion. You don’t make pacts, William... you claim them. Also, it seems you can’t summon those who are too strong for you, but that now makes me wonder what the number-like symbol next to some of those beasts’ faces means."

William was overjoyed to see the giant bear, as he now had one more tank to help him.