Being a Summoner on our Evolved Earth

Back in Black (35)

Lucia walked out under the sunlight and stretched. The wind was a bit chilly as it  swept through the trees with leaves that had started to regrow from winter. Lucia's long hair brushed into her face and interrupted her thoughts. 

"Why is my hair black?" Lucia asked in shock. 

"Your eyes have also turned green, you look like a mini version of the first appearance you had when we met." Aegis added.  

"Really? I guess this was another effect of the rebirth spell. Well I don't mind the changes." Lucia said while fiddling with her hair.  "I want to make a trip to a certain human settlement to say hi to my deceased Mother and friend." Lucia said as she ran her fingers through her hair. 

"Humans? Don't you hate them?" Vicki asked with surprise.

"I don't trust them... However, there is somewhere I want to go and that place happens to be next to a human settlement." Lucia said with a bit of melancholy. "Also, I want to know how far they've progressed in these 100 years. Speaking of, what happened to Clive and how did restoring balance to the eco system on this mountain go, and how are the wolves?"

"The human Clive... When he woke up the next day he was like a broken puppet who just laid there staring at the sky without moving. It started to rain later so I moved him into the cave next to you and he slid onto the thousand ice seal and seemed to receive a shock that restored his ego... However, he didn't have any memories and was like a scared mouse. He wouldn't come near us, so we left the area long enough for him to come out and he ran into the forest. We never saw him again... As for your other question, we spread the knowledge for awakening, and there was a war between the herbivores and carnivores. In the end, it caused more carnivores to evolve faster. The after effects spilled off the mountain causing a chain effect in the forests on either side. I believe it should have spread quite far by now. Also the wolf pack has evolved into werewolves and their offspring are werewolves with mostly wolf forms that all start at the third tier." Aegis explained.

"They must be around fifth tier on average as adults then, how dangerous." Lucia chuckled. "Well they won't recognize us as allies anymore, especially after the changes we went through. We're at the bottom of the food chain now." Lucia held her chin in thought. "Due to my lower mana I can't power level you guys as fast as I did in the past. I guess I'll need to see if I can summon a babysitter." 

"Don't worry about power leveling us. We have a stash of magic crystals to help with that." Vicki bragged while pointing back in the cave where there was a separate tunnel blocked with ice. 

"Did you guys dig a new cave?" Lucia asked as she walked up to the ice and could feel a chill of death from it. 

"I melted it with my fire breath! It was my nest for many winters as well as where we stored crystal cores from things we hunted." Vicki spoke proudly. Aegis walked over and placed his hand on the ice and a portion melted to make a small door. Inside there was several nice pelts laid on the floor like a bed and several mana crystals of various colors.

"Excellent!" Lucia grinned as she opened her space tattoo and quickly frowned. "It seems my space has shrunk with my strength.  Let's start fusing the mana crystals together till we have three of each. I also need to make some room in my space tattoo." 

They got to work quickly without a question and Lucia had to take out several stones and bones that she'd been holding onto to make tools with. She also took the bone needles, some weeds she had twirled together to act as string, and sewed up a drawstring bag. She used a thin strip of hide as the draw string and as a strap to go over the shoulder. She made two, one for her and one for Aegis. Then she moved some of her tools into the bags like the needle, stone skinning knife, stone for sharpening, and a couple hides to use as bedding and blankets. She had to throw out all the food as well because it had gone rotten. As Lucia finished gathering the cores she felt a chill down her spine and uneasy all of a sudden. 

"We stayed too long, quick melt the rest of the ice and we need to run into the forest!" Lucia ordered urgently. Aegis did as ordered and dispelled the ice wall completely as they fled the cave. A door of fog was starting to form outside the cave's entrance as they ran past. 

"The fog?!" Vicki chirped in surprise.

"Shhh!" Lucia shushed her as they reached the tree line and kept running. 

"We should turn towards the cliff soon, or we'll enter the werewolves' hunting grounds." Aegis reminded through telepathy. Lucia nodded and slowed to a walk as they turned their path. They managed to travel quietly for a few minutes while occasionally seeing a startled rabbit or small bird. Each of them at least at tier 1. 

'Now that's how it's supposed to be. They'll live longer if they are cautious.' Lucia thought to herself. 

"Wait, there is something we need to do before we go any further." Lucia suddenly said. "The fog appearing through off my train of thought earlier." She scratched the back of her head then started a random summon. 

'Looking for bodyguard / protector for a few tier 1's. Will pay with mana and healing. Able to negotiate exact amount.' Lucia set up her requirements as an advertisement that might have been a bit too honest. The dull magic circle appeared in front of her waiting to see if anyone accepted an interview. 

"What is going on? Normally your summons are answered instantly." Vicki asked worriedly.

"It's because rather than asking for creatures that want to be raised, I'm asking for a babysitter for us. Not many are willing to protect others, and they probably don't think we can pay much either." Lucia explained as she tried to count the seconds in her mind. If there is no takers within two minutes then the spell would fail and wouldn't be usable until tomorrow. Around the one  minute mark though the magic circle changed to a bright glow as they received a response, and then the magic circle split in two which surprised Lucia who was worried about even getting one.

In the left magic circle appeared a large black snake with two green stripes that curved like ivy along its body. The snake was so large that it could raise its head above most of the trees in the forest. The other magic circle held someone familiar, the fairy of darkness who had tried to trick Lucia into signing a slave contract twice. Lucia almost instantly snapped that fairy out of here. 

The fairy who was smirking confidently saw the summoner it wanted to tease about ready to snap from anger at the sight of her. She soon recognized the aura of the summoner and was surprised. 'Shouldn't that human have died by now? Why does she look like a child...? So interesting, how can I let her slip away!' 

"Please wait! Little one didn't you want a guardian? I'd love to take care of you, you're so adorable~!" The fairy quickly sweet talked.

"Oh so you think you can fool me thrice? I am not giving you a single chance to mess with me again!" Lucia retorted and snapped her fingers as the fairy was kicked out. She took a few deep breaths to re-organize herself before turning to the giant snake.