Being a Summoner on our Evolved Earth

Century old Acquaintance (36)

'It's so tall, I'm going to hurt my neck looking up at it.' Lucia thought briefly.

"Is that really you young lady? Your aura is so weak now I almost didn't recognize your summons." The snake said as it suddenly shrank with shadows dispersing from around it. It soon was about fifty feet long with about almost a foot in width. It's head still stood about seven feet high though but it lowered itself to eye level with Lucia.

"Are you the snake I asked to curse me a century ago?" Lucia guessed as there were only two snakes she'd ever interacted with since the world's reset.

"Yes. I believe I was also the snake you summoned in that cave even before that as well. I just didn't recognize you the second time. Now you look like a small version of your first form though, can you shape shift?" The snake conversed with a happy tone while gently swaying its head side to side.

"No I can't shape shift, I may be able to tell you the story later, but if you don't mind I'd like to finish business first please." Lucia smiled back at the snake, she was happy that she left such a good impression.

"Of course, you want a body guard yes? I can do that, but with how weakened you are, I guess getting mana once a week should be fine?" The snake didn't sound too bothered and set a price itself.

"What tier of strength are you at? Last time we met you were almost third tier." Lucia asked suddenly.

"Hmmm, I'd say about tier 7. I'm a bit stronger than the aura you gave off last time we met." The snake spoke with a bit of pride.

"If you're that strong then... How about one large mana crystal to absorb a week?" Lucia offered as she pulled out one of the large combined shadow mana crystals that was as big as a baseball. The snakes eyes widened at the unexpected offer. The amount of mana in this was equal to a tier 4 creatures mana which was way more than it was expecting.

"Those must be hard to come by, how many do you have? If you run out then the contract would be broken..." The snake cautiously warned. 

"Do you actually want to be my regular summon instead of a body guard or something?" Lucia chuckled. 

The snake looked away in embarrassment. "Why... Why would I want to be your summon? I could eat you without any effort."  

"Oh, my apologies. I misunderstood your good intentions. Then I suppose you'll just be my bodyguard till I run out of these dark mana crystals." Lucia restrained her laughter and shrugged as she turned around to hide her grin.

"What!? Then... Then at least add a clause that we can reconsider payment when you run out of them." The snake added in a fluster.

"Hmmm, alright then you drive a hard bargain. We have a deal!" Lucia summoned the contract in front of them and did the practice signature to deal with the illusion the dark fairy usually casts. However, there was no illusion this time which caused Lucia to raise an eyebrow. Then she did a partial signature and then the illusion activated. 

'A fox can't change its spots huh.' Lucia smirked. Then she reset her contract and did the same test before officially signing it. When the contract finished it flew inside Lucia's empty contract space. The snake waited till the magic circle dispersed before flicking its tongue several times to catch the smells in the area. 

"Indeed, you smell similar to a century ago." The snake said cheerfully. Lucia just chuckled.

"So do you want a name, or since you're just a body guard maybe you don't want one." Lucia asked with an eager tone that quickly turned to a depressed one as she spun away from it again. The snake seemed to panic seeing her suddenly looking upset.

"No no, a name, yes I'd like a name. Actually when I was eavesdropping on humans a few years ago I heard a name I liked the sound of. I think it was Rikit." The snake suggested quickly.

"Alright then, we'll call you Rikit, nice to meet you again." Lucia faced him with a teasing smile. "You're quite big still, so we'll stand out a bit and may get attacked by humans... Hmmm." Lucia quickly stopped joking as she thought about this.

"Don't worry, I can just hide in your shadow." Rikit said and he turned into a stream of shadows that merged with Lucia's shadow. Her shadow then became more pronounced than the other shadows around. 

{That's really handy! Also we can communicate through telepathy because of the contract.} Lucia used telepathy to explain to Rikit while thinking his ability to hide in shadows reminded her of a certain character from one of her favorite manhwa. 

{That's handy, so can you tell me the story now, or about what you've been up to for the last century?} Rikit asked eagerly. 

'Rikit is the kind that is shy on first meeting and talkative once comfortable huh.' Lucia giggled. 

{Well I'll tell you while we walk.} She started telling the story from defeating the raid boss in the game. The journey was rather smooth through the forest accompanied by a gentle breeze. 

{We have stalkers. Want me to deal with them?} Half way through the story Rikit interrupted her.

Lucia thought for a moment, {Well how strong are they?}

{About tier 3 I think.} 

{Wait until it looks like we're in danger of losing our lives. If Aegis and Vicki are willing, then I'd like to see how we do against a stronger opponent.} Lucia decided while looking to Aegis.

Of course, constantly challenging strong opponents is a good way to increase our strength." Aegis answered confidently.

{I should get used to this small body.} Vicki responded eagerly as well. Lucia pulled out her staff and cast her buff spells. Due to going back to first tier she could only use [Blessing of a Warrior]  on Aegis and Vicki. [Iron Claws] was available at tier 2, and the aura spell wasn't available until tier 3.

"I forgot how limited my spells are at tier 1. A single buff spell, healing spell, and attack spell..." Lucia sighed, but didn't let it bother her too much.

{So you guys are the same Aegis and Vicki from a century ago? Why do you look so different now?} Rikit suddenly asked.

{You'll hear about it when I finish the story later.} Lucia replied then asked in telepathy, {How far are the stalkers?}

{They are hiding by the trees behind you. Two of them.} 

"Wow I can't feel their presence at all. I guess it's because of the tier difference and my lack of experience in detecting threats." Lucia whispered. 

{Aegis you need to get their attention if you can, while Vicki attacks from behind during openings. I'll try to attack when I can, but mostly focusing on support. Any comments?} 

{No suggestions here.} Aegis replied telepathically.

{None here.} Vicki similarly replied. 

Aegis bent down to pick up a stick which he tossed at the spot where the creatures were hiding. They made no movement despite the stick being thrown. Aegis conjured an ice knife over his sword and shot it at an angle to hit behind the tree. A large racoon; the size of a big dog, dodged out from behind the tree while hissing in annoyance.