Tavern Shenanigans

While the digital display of the summoning process showcased a variety of silhouettes–human and non-human–flashing by, his foe wasn't so courteous as to wait, instead dashing straight towards him.

"Alright…now hurry up, would ya?!" He yelled out, watching as the goblin charged at him.

Left without anywhere to run with his back pressed against the grating bark of the tree and no weapon in his hand to defend himself with, it was all up to the luck of the draw now.

As he raised his arms in a desperate guard with the goblin approaching, feeling his heart wildly thumping in his chest and his blood flowing with a sublime heat in the battle–

FWOOM

Two separate beams of light manifested between him and the goblin, cutting it off and causing the yellow-eyed creature to pause in confusion.

"Kre?!" The goblin let out.

To the left was a bright-blue light, however, on the right, a radiant, golden shine gave off from the pillar.

"...Come on…" He muttered under his breath, praying that his suspicions were correct.

Jumping forth as the light dimmed, the goblin lunged at him with its dagger held, blocking his vision from the results of his dual summoning.

'Shit…!' He thought, hiding behind his arms.

–However, no such dagger met his flesh as the noise of the blade meeting something solid reached his ears.

"Huh?"

As he lowered his arms, he found a new figure standing between him and the ravenous goblin: a middle-aged man with a scruffy, ginger beard and clad in studded leather armor. The mysterious man burped out, holding the circular, wooden shield in front of himself before pushing back against the goblin's dagger, knocking the creature back.

"Just in time! Ha-ha!" The man said with a deep voice, wielding a smile of his own as he turned to face the stunned summoner, "Well met!"

[New Familiar Obtained: (N) Booze-Lover Gunter | Special Traits: Smells like mead!]

[ATK: 7 | DEF: 10 | MAG: 2]

[Pity: +1 | 2/100]

He was stunned for a solid few seconds, partially because he was still alive, but also because of the rather tall, muscle-built man standing in front of him, "I…summoned you?"

"That you did! I answered your call! As did she!" Gunter told him with a thumbs-up, resting his battle ax on his shoulder.

"'She'...?" He repeated.

It was just then once the booze-smelling warrior had moved aside did he see the other result of his summon, one that made his heart beat harder, this time with inexplicable excitement–

[Pity Reset: 0/100]

[New Familiar obtained: (R) Holy Spellblade Edith | Special Traits: Level Scaling!]

[ATK: 20 | DEF: 9 | MAG: 20]

'An (R) rarity?!...That's a ten-percent chance!' He realized.

The stats wielded by the summoned figure took his attention, but the appearance of them stole it entirely:

A woman with flowing, silver hair, dressed in a mix of leather and white-steel armor that matched the flawless glow of her hair, unsheathed a longsword from a scabbard decorated with the etchings of a dragon's claw.

Along the immaculate silver of the blade were inscriptions that began to glow as she ran her gauntlet-protected fingers over it, chanting something quietly: "Burning Edge."

The enchantment was called upon calmly even whilst the desperate goblin picked itself up and rushed the silver-haired, pale-skinned woman.

As she finally opened her eyes, revealing their beautiful coloring akin to amethyst, she lifted her sword as her sights were set on the goblin, waiting until it drew close until she unleashed a single swipe of her blade upon its flesh.

"--Kree!"

A massive gash was cut through its torso, yet as it fell down with its blood spilling, the enchantment placed upon the beautiful woman's blade manifested, causing the fiend to erupt into flames.

"Awesome…!" Jett reacted.

Reduced to ash, the goblin's cries vanished just as its physical form did, leaving nothing left as the silver-haired beauty returned her weapon to its sheath.

[EXP: +5 | 5/5]

[Level Up!]

[Level 1 | 0/10]

'I gained experience, even though I wasn't the one that dealt the killing blow. So…even my familiars can get experience for me,' he realized.

[New Skill(s) Acquired! | Temporary Summon]

'A new skill? I'll check that later…I have a lot of things to figure out–first and foremost, these two,' he thought.

As he looked forward, he could see the silver-haired woman approaching him, who had smooth, pale skin and a face like a princess, yet dressed in lavish, dependable armor.

"It's done. Are you alright, Master?" The spellblade woman walked over to him.

"...Master?!" He repeated.

Edith nodded, looking at him with her glistening, purple irises, "It was your summon that I responded to, no? That makes you my master."

"Well…Just Jett is fine," he said.

Gunter laughed, giving him a playful, but not gentle, slap on the back, "Master, Jett, whatever works for me! We've been summoned to assist–well, with that being said, I could go for some booze. How about it, Jett?"

It was hard to adjust to the sudden presence of two more people, whose existence was mystical in nature to him, though the aroma of booze that swirled around Gunter wasn't easy to handle. The stench of mead was made worse by the fact the scruffy-bearded, shaggy-haired man slung his arm around the slim man's neck, bringing him into a slight embrace as he laughed:

"My town of origin, Merdlum, is just down a nearby path! I betcha that's why you summoned me–ha-ha!" Gunter laughed, "It's the best drinking capital in all of the great continent of Elyrian!"

Edith led the way, somewhat stoic and pragmatic in her ways as she decided to make herself the lookout for any other fiendish creatures on their path through the forest. On their way, the silver-haired woman tended to his wounds with a simple healing spell, which worked well enough for his minor wounds.

"Gunter, I think you're suffocating our Master with your stench," Edith remarked while walking in front of the two men.

"Huh?! Nonsense! The sweet aroma of mead is the scent of flowers for men! Ain't that right, Jett?!" Gunter laughed boisterously.

It was somewhat difficult to talk while walking side-to-side with the broad man who kept his arm slung around his shoulder, weighing down like a tree log.

"Err, it's fine," he chuckled.

As he headed down the loosely-paved road within the forest, he condensed the knowledge he had gathered in his first day so far amidst his new life.

'I've only got enough copper for two more summons–maybe less, depending on how much Gunter drinks…My first priority should be finding a way to make money. Which if this is a fantasy world like I'm thinking, I'm sure there will be quests I can take,' he deduced.

Gunter's words did not lead them astray: there was indeed a small, but not quiet town awaiting at the end of the road within the forest.

The soft sunlight of the noon day danced down on Merdlum, and like a child that had been reunited with a lost toy, the muscular man danced, clapping his hands as he moved towards the tavern.

"Mead-o! Mead-o!" Gunter chanted.

'Ah…I'm going to have no copper by the end of this, huh?' He realized.