Ch.22. Summoning Spirit

[Scan Confirmed]

-Information Update: Entity Confirmed

-Summon Card Input Available

-Please Check DNA Points.

Something impossible appeared before my eyes. In the past, these messages never showed up.

While it’s standard for aptitude testers to see a status window, I wasn’t one of them.

Yet now it had appeared.

“What the hell…?”

When I looked up, I could see everyone’s expressions. The instructor and the people watching from the summoning circle. Even those who had completed the summoning with me—they were all staring at me.

This was clearly unprecedented.

The atmosphere was so cold I could feel the pressure, but having experienced this before, I casually shuffled my card deck and moved forward.

By now, the instructor should be rushing over, right?

As expected, the instructors all rushed toward me at once.

“Trump cards? This is a first.”

“I can sense magical power, but I can’t identify which summoning spirit it belongs to.”

“Can these even be used? How do they work?”

The instructors were eagerly examining the cards, but I remained indifferent, already knowing the outcome.

They were experimenting to see if the cards could contain magic or store spells, testing every possibility… but it wouldn’t work anyway.

Still, their reason for doing this was simple. As instructors, they needed to understand this unprecedented phenomenon to teach their students.

But from my memory, nothing would change in the current situation.

No matter how much magical power the instructors injected or what they tried, the cards remained unchanged like statues.

“Is it an auxiliary type?”

“Cards… this is definitely a first.”

Their confusion continued, delaying the summoning ceremony.

Usually, similar items would be accessory-type weapons. Like the Brisingamen that Seo Yu-hwa received, most items would display what they were and their abilities… or at least, that was the norm.

Since summoning spirits connect and provide weapons, people could infer their abilities based on that connection.

But in my case, that wasn’t true at all. The instructors were murmuring among themselves, frantically taking notes.

“Why isn’t the summoning spirit manifesting?”

“Normally, a weapon appears when connected to a summoning spirit.”

“And it’s barely responding to magical power.”

Eventually, the instructors anxiously handled my cards and checked the time.

Right, other students needed to complete their summonings.

And around this time, “that guy” would show up—the self-important one who barges in, annoyed by the delayed ceremony.

“Come on! Just say he got stuck with some garbage! Not everyone gets something good!”

Someone came forward, shouting. A tanned delinquent with dyed blonde hair.

Geum Do-hyun. Destined to become the second-ranked male at the academy.

[Geum Do-hyun]

-Importance: High

-Probability of destruction fluctuates. (0~7%)

For this guy, the probability doesn’t decrease but fluctuates. I can roughly guess why.

He has a difficult personality and causes trouble for those around him. Eventually subdued by Gu Sang-heon, the top-ranked male, he considers him a lifelong enemy.

This inferiority complex will ultimately lead him to kill Gu Sang-heon, who would have become an important protector of humanity.

The probability varies for each person.

Anyway, he becomes Gu Sang-heon’s rival, while I was someone who had no influence in that relationship. I was just a bottom-feeder doing menial tasks.

Both then and now, he merely looked at me with contempt.

“Getting stuck with trash. Too bad. You’ll just have to be support, like that person who got a broom.”

With that remark, he walked toward the summoning circle.

I already knew what he would summon: the fire spirit Ifrit, 5-star rank.

By the way, I should mention that normally when someone summons, they’re told the classification and rank of their summoning spirit.

For Ifrit, it would look like this:

[Summoning Spirit]

-Ifrit

-Medium: Ifrit’s Magic Stone

-Classification: Elemental Spirit

-Rank: 5-Star

I was the case where nothing appeared. Not even the lowest 1-star rank. Geum Do-hyun, however, successfully obtained an extremely rare 5-star rank.

[Behold! The magic stone of the fire spirit Ifrit! You already know how to use this, right?]

Geum Do-hyun clutched the magic stone in his hand and gathered his magical power.

In an instant, the stone was engulfed in flames and disappeared, but the fire wrapped around Geum Do-hyun.

“Hahaha! Ifrit! I’m a lucky man indeed. The power of an elemental spirit!”

While he celebrated excitedly, I just stared at my deck of cards.

There are three types of summoning spirits: legendary heroes, accomplished historical figures, and elemental spirits that control nature.

Which is superior depends on the user, so it’s meaningless to compare, but elemental spirits are quite powerful and convenient in the early stages.

[Ifrit is among the highest-ranking elemental spirits. There are only four in the entire world.]

The announcer was speaking dramatically. The number of heroes is less than the number of aptitude testers. That’s why multiple testers can contract with the same summoning spirit.

Among them, those who excel become “Priests,” and the next level is “Avatar,” I’ve heard.

That’s a realm I’ve never experienced.

After the summoning ceremony ended, we all dispersed.

Not to go home, but to the dormitories.

For efficient management, all aptitude testers live in dormitories.

Not sharing rooms, but in single-occupancy rooms.

The announcer kept announcing through the microphone:

[Everyone! Your room assignments are displayed on your issued smartwatches, which also serve as your ID. The rooms are hotel-quality, so don’t worry about them being uninhabitable like some cheap goshiwon!]

The smartwatch we were given earlier displayed a screen.

A map appeared, showing the location of my assigned dormitory.

“Good thing it’s a single room.”

Right now, the anomaly that had newly appeared was more important than anything else.

[Mission]

-Please Check DNA Points.

DNA Points? What could that mean? I fingered the cards I had tucked away.

Five cards in a small deck. They still had nothing written on them… wait, that’s not right?

Surprisingly, the cards had changed.

***

[Main Card]

-Name: Trait: Strength: Agility: Resistance: Magic Resistance: Stamina: Magical Power: Skill: Race: Evolution:

“What is all this?”

As if newly transformed, I saw a red background with an empty portrait in the center. Below it were various stats.

“What is this?”

On the back of the red-backgrounded card was a strange symbol.

A snake? Dragon? And armor patterns all intertwined into a bizarre emblem.

“It changed.”

I couldn’t help but say it. The only thing different from the past.

My cards had changed.

[Sub Card]

-Name: Effect

The rest of the cards were simple. One main card and four sub cards.

What could this mean?

To examine them more closely, I should check in my room.

As I was walking, someone blocked my path.

Ah, I remember this too. There was such an event?

In front of me stood Geum Do-hyun and several others. Park Jae-hyuk and Seong Do-jun. People who formed factions from the first day of enrollment.

[These individuals have no relation to the probability of destruction.]

They could be considered beings with little influence on this world.

Their proposal to me was simple.

“I hear you drew a dud, poor thing?”

“And?”

I said nothing, though I knew what was coming. The conclusion was already set.

Park Jae-hyuk quickly stepped forward and grabbed my shoulder.

“You’re not the only one. Many of our seniors got terrible summoning spirits and never saw the light of day. But we’re different.”

“Join us. Our family sticks together. We help each other. All you have to do is follow instructions.”

Geum Do-hyun extended his hand. Yes, it’s the same. These guys trying to use me as their errand boy.

Back then, thinking my ability was trash, I foolishly accepted their offer.

But it was a trap. These guys gathered people like me whose summoning spirits were weak and had to serve as support, building their own power base.

They used us for information gathering, sabotage, sowing discord—as tools to eliminate competitors.

I was their first notable errand boy, just running errands, but others were forced into dirty work and ended up taking the fall and getting expelled.

I too was eventually discarded after serving as their lackey.

Enduring all kinds of mistreatment.

And after graduation, they thrived while I fell into ruin. They were only ousted after graduation when they killed Gu Sang-heon out of jealousy.

Yes, I know all these memories. Applying my unhappy future as is? That’s absurd.

So I should make a different choice here than before.

“Sorry. I still don’t know much, so I’ll look into it more. Thanks for the offer though.”

As I smiled and tried to walk past them after declining:

“This fucking guy, we try to help him and…”

I heard Geum Do-hyun’s curse.

When I turned my head, his expression was filled with killing intent.

From here on is territory unknown even to me. Just as Geum Do-hyun was about to move, Park Jae-hyuk intervened.

“Hey, hey! He gets excited easily. Honestly, our offer is quite beneficial. But if it’s a no, it’s a no. Do-hyun, calm down.”

As expected of Geum Do-hyun. A real thug. I felt it when working with him—he’s self-centered and violent.

That’s why he has no reputation and eventually loses to Gu Sang-heon.

Still, I got through it safely. Well, since we don’t know each other yet, he probably won’t cause problems.

“Phew.”

I sighed in relief and went straight to my room.

Inside the dormitory, a caretaker was waiting.

“Welcome. I’m Jeong Ju-sang, the caretaker. Place your smartwatch on the marker to enter. One at a time, slowly!”

Jeong Ju-sang, who had lost one eye and wore an eye patch, shouted at us.

He’s quite strict, and stronger than you’d think. Despite retiring due to injury, he was still strong enough to subdue people at our current level.

If I remember correctly, before his injury, he ranked around 3,000th out of 50,000? Quite a few people who underestimated him got beaten up.

I placed my smartwatch on the marker and moved down the corridor. I already knew my room location, so there was no issue.

Right, other things don’t matter. I need to figure out these cards.

Entering the room, I saw a simple setup: a bed, desk, and wardrobe.

A bathroom with shower was visible right next to the door.

Decorating was up to us. I immediately sat on the bed and took out my deck of cards.

A deck containing main and sub cards. But there was no change just by looking at them.

Right, I need to find a method. For this type, you inject magical power.

Just like Geum Do-hyun did.

I held the card deck and concentrated my magical power. Magical power involves converting the ambient magical density through one’s body.

Yes, I can do this with my eyes closed.

The magical power concentrated in my hand. As it gathered, it flowed toward the card deck.

And then something strange happened.

The card deck began to crack.

Like shattering into pieces, the entire deck transformed into light. The light moved around and then flowed into my body.

[Information Confirmed]

-Name: Do Jong-hyun

-A monster summoning spirit is contacting you.

-Monster DNA is being inscribed.

“Monster summoning spirit? Wait, what?”

To my bewilderment, a large status window suddenly appeared.

A monster as a summoning spirit? I’ve never heard of such a thing. The summoning spirit system has nothing to do with monsters. It’s about legends, heroes, and elemental spirits lending their power to humans, who in turn honor them through contracts.

But now the status window is talking about a monster summoning spirit.

[You can use the power of monsters.]

-Choose which monster DNA to use for your main card from the rewards you’ve received.

I can use the power of monsters? Put a monster in the main card…

I understood quickly, of course. But the problem was the “monster” part.

“Monsters are enemies of humanity, meant to be hunted. I’m just borrowing their power, right? All summoning spirits lend their power anyway.”

Yes, think positively. Surely I won’t turn into a monster?

I could be killed if caught as a monster that transforms into a human. That can’t be it.

Believing that, I pressed the main card section on the screen.

[Select a race.]

-Insect, Dinosaur

-You can select one as your first benefit.

-The more diverse evolution DNA you collect, the more powerful evolution you can achieve.

The time for choice has come. But dinosaur?