Summoner's Second Chance

Chapter 34

Morning light seeped into his room as the sun started to rear its head. Trace stirred from his slumber, and sat up on his bed. He rubbed his eyes several times, before scanning his surroundings. A small smile appeared on his face as he got on his feet, and changed into his day to day clothes. In his own mind, Trace still couldn't truly believe that he was given a second chance. He had accepted the fact that if, one day, he woke up in the middle of a barren field, then the past four months were all just a dream.

"Brother? Are you awake?" The small, gentle voice of a girl rang out from behind the door, and Trace smiled as he walked near it. "Yes, Melody. I am awake." Trace opened the door, careful to not make a sound, and a girl stood on the other side. A petite girl with short auburn hair stood in front of him, and it confused him. After gazing at the girl's features for a while longer, he finally realized that it was his own sister. "So you've cut your hair?"

Melody combed her fingers through her wavy auburn hair as a shy smile appeared on her mouth. "Does it not suit me?" Trace smiled, as he shook his head. He approached his sister, and rested a hand on her small head. "You looked like you went back to your childhood." Trace combed his fingers through his sister's hair, and smiled. "You look adorable, Melody." Hearing her brother's praise, Melody couldn't help but to blush, and hid her face with her hands.

"I almost forgot..." Melody finally remembered about the letter in her hand, and gave it to Trace. "The royal family's insignia is inscribed there. I think the king wanted to see you later today." Trace took the letter from his sister, and nodded briefly. "I will be there." Melody gave her brother a small smile, before walking towards the first floor. Trace opened the letter, and read through the contents. The content of the letter sent a deep furrow onto his brows as he quickly shoved the letter into his coat pocket.

Trace took a deep breath, and calmed himself. "This is worrying indeed..." Nevertheless, the tasks he had to do that day will not disappear. With heavy feet, he stepped out of his mansion, and walked to his first objective. The Summoner's Academy training ground, where all of his friends are waiting for him. It didn't take too long for him to arrive, and he already saw all of his friends waiting for him, wearing light clothing.

"Trace, heard you asked the principal to graduate early. Want to explain that to us?" The crude noble that had called out to him was none other than his close friend, Gilbert. His usually messy, and unbelievably spiky brown hair was put in their place with water and many condiments. Trace smiled at his friend's question, and gave him a small shrug. "I need to search for the remaining 23 Judge's Gate spread across the continent. I can't search for them freely if I'm not a summoner."

Gilbert crossed his arms, and nodded a few times as he heard his friend's explanation. He finally gave Trace a grin, and slapped his friend's back. "Well, don't go too crazy you hear me?" Trace nodded taking his friend's words to heart. He clapped his hands, getting the attention of his friends. "Then let's start training."

Trace trained his friends in not just improving their soul power, but their physical strengths as well. It was his believe that summoners need not only soul power, but physical strength as well. After three hours of rigorous training, Trace finally released him. "Your training is as harsh as usual, Trace." A young man with long, auburn hair tied to a short ponytail called out to him as Trace stored the training equipments to his dimensional ring. It was his other close friend, Fang. Trace smirked, and nudged Fang on the side. "Then that means you still have a long way to go." Fang sighed, and scratched the back of his head.

"Trace, I'm done collecting the wooden swords." Trace turned his head to see a raven-haired man, his bangs covering part of his black eyes. "Thanks Liu." Trace took the wooden swords from him, and stored it away. Liu's eyes darted around nervously, and his feet shifted every so often; the sign that he had questions for Trace. Trace smiled, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Something wrong?" Liu's eyes lit up, and he started asking Trace about how he did today, and what he could've done better. His drive to improve brought a smile to Trace's face, and he happily answered him.