Being a Summoner on our Evolved Earth

(57)

Lucia didn't think long before she slapped the stair and stood up. Then she raised a barrier around herself that pushed away the water and she walked down to the floor. Within a five foot diameter around Lucia, there was no water. It was like a glass tube sticking out of a pond. Then Aegis watched in amazement as Lucia shot spells out of that barrier without breaking it, and also used her quarter staff to attack through it. When she pulled her weapon in, some water came in, but not enough to be an issue.

Lucia walked up the stairs happily and started to boast to Aegis, "Look, with this water repelling barrier, I can start my spells and attacks with less resistance and reduce the impact the water has on me. It is open on top to let oxygen in, so water could get splashed in, but the barrier will filter it out as we continue walking. I can increase the range, but then my regeneration would barely keep up with the expenditure. I still need mana for other spells too."

"That's incredible Lucia! It doesn't solve the problem completely, but it is a good start. How about we work together to deal with enemies to reduce your mana usage?" Aegis suggested.

"I agree, this terrain won't allow me to selfishly insist on proving myself. All the creatures here are going to be tier 5 now." Lucia nodded in agreement. "The barrier doesn't stop attacks or enemies going in and out though, just water, so keep that in mind." 

"Alright. Do you need to recover mana before we start?" Aegis asked.

"No, I hardly used much mana. We can start." Lucia said as she released the mana being put into her mask. 'I forgot I was still using the mask... With it deactivated, I can increase the range of the barrier to seven foot diameter, but I'll leave it as is to make sure I can maintain my mana for emergencies.'

{Yeah, still no way out of the canyon. I'm turning around now.} Vicki's voice came suddenly.

Lucia who was gung-ho, suddenly paused and sighed. 

{I'm going to try summoning you and Ray one at a time to our location.} Lucia replied back.

{Okay. He can't understand me though, so how will he know? Wait, can you even summon him?} Vicki asked in concern.

{I'm going to find out!} Lucia said as she had already started the summoning. [Summon Ray]. After twenty five seconds, Ray who had woken up to being on the back of a dragon suddenly heard Lucia's voice.

{I summon Ray to me. Do you accept?} 

Ray looked around on reflex, then asked Vicki, "Is Lucia summoning me? She can summon people without a contract?"

Vicki turned to look at him and nodded. Ray was surprised, but he still said "I accept."

Then he found himself on a staircase in a dark cylindrical room flooded with water that seemed to glow. He blinked his eyes rapidly to adjust from the bright canyon to the dark room.

"Where are we?" He asked.

"The fourth floor of the dungeon. We were just about to start, but Vicki couldn't find a safe way out of the canyon, so I'm bringing you here where we can protect you." Lucia explained to Ray, then spoke to Vicki {Make sure to shrink yourself, there is not a lot of room here unless you want to go swimming.}

{Ugh, not more water...} Vicki groaned.

Lucia quickly did the summoning and Vicki appeared in her small form, a bit bigger than a house cat.

"Woah, this place looks so cool!" Vicki exclaimed as her eyes adjusted faster than Ray's.

"It is definitely unique." Lucia agreed, then she looked guiltily at Ray "Sorry again for before. I already lost one person that I thought I could protect, and I didn't want it to happen again. Since we couldn't fulfil the promise of helping you get out of the canyon, we'll teach you magic here with a partnership contract to ensure we don't backstab each other. Is that alright?"