[Would you like to use Safe Summoning Mode?]
[Yes] [No]
Ludleth clicked "Yes" without a second thought. The other modes were far too risky; at least with this one, even if he didn't summon someone powerful, his life wouldn't be in danger.
[Summoning begins]
[Since this is your first summon, a strong character is guaranteed]
[Driiiing…
Driiing...
Driiiing...…
Driiiing...….]
Seeing the unexpected message, Ludleth felt a surge of excitement. Now, he just hoped that the person summoned would be of some use to him.
Still, deep down, he was nervous. It was his first summoning, after all. Even though the system claimed the summoned beings from this mode were "good," there was no way to be completely sure.
Besides, the word "good" could have different meanings in different languages. In his kingdom, it meant "a bearer of gifts," but from his memories, he knew that in another language, it could mean someone who does good deeds, is well-liked, sensitive, and much more.
So, there was no way of knowing what "good" meant to the system especially if it was operating in a language unknown to him.
On top of that, he couldn't control the summoned individuals. They could easily choose to ignore him or even kill him. That alone justified his paranoia. Of course, all this assumed the system was lying to him, although he couldn't think of a reason why it would.
Blinded by curiosity, or perhaps simply tired of his own weakness, he decided to place his trust in the system. He wanted to summon someone who could help him grow stronger.
He had always been the weakest of his father's sons, living in the shadow of both his older and younger brothers. It wasn't as if he had been mistreated if that had happened, his mother would've gone ballistic. No, he was just jealous. He wanted to be like them, but he never succeeded.
That's why he was willing to take the risk of summoning someone hoping they might share techniques from another world that would help him grow quickly and surpass everyone else.
Ludleth knew his reasoning was a bit selfish and maybe even foolish, but he wanted to try. Especially after seeing, in those mysterious memories, just how many incredible abilities might exist.
Those memories came from a planet called Earth. There, he had been a perfectly normal person one among many. The most unique thing about him had been his passion for literature, from the classics all the way to modern works like light novels.
That passion had led him to enroll in a university of literature, where his final memories took place.
In those memories, he saw how fictional characters had powers his own world could only dream of or at least, powers he had never seen in his world.
So, thinking that maybe those stories weren't just stories, but reflections of possible realities as he had read in certain fanfictions he decided to go through with it.
And just as he was lost in his inner monologue, the system emitted a sound only he could hear.
[Summoning Successful]
[You have successfully summoned Scáthach (Fate version)]
[Summon will appear in…
3…
2…
1
Thank you for summoning. The summon will remain active for 01:00:00]
[To extend the duration, use your own mana]
In front of Ludleth's eyes appeared a woman taller than him, with long violet hair and red eyes. But what shocked him the most was her face the most beautiful he had ever seen. And he had lived in the royal palace, where he'd seen many beautiful people.
An aura surrounded the woman, like that of a beast ready to strike at the first sign of hostility.
After a few stunned moments, the boy tried to pull himself together. Internally, he was already thinking about the identity of the woman now scanning the room with icy eyes.
'She should be Scáthach, but I don't know much about her. I never really followed the Fate series, except for Unlimited Blade Works and a few fanfics…'
He cursed himself mentally for not knowing more about the Fate universe.
'I know she's a powerful warrior and mage, she's killed gods… and she wants to die. How am I supposed to convince her to help me?'
As the silence dragged on for a little too long, and after completing his mental list, Ludleth decided to speak.
"Greetings, Lady Scáthach. I am your summoner. My name is Ludleth, second prince of the Kingdom of Astror."
Her gaze fixed on him for several seconds. Ludleth felt a shiver run down his spine, as if those eyes were peeling back every secret he held.
"So, you're the one who summoned me. How did you do it? This place… it feels strange."
"That's because you're no longer on Earth, but on Myriad a different planet from your own. Thanks to my magic, I can summon random people from other realities into mine, though only for a limited amount of time."
At that, Scáthach took a small step forward. It wasn't threatening, but it was enough to send another chill down Ludleth's spine.
Not that she had done anything in particular… just being near someone who could destroy you with a glance was more than enough to make your nerves fray.
"Many have tried to summon me. No one's ever done it by accident."
"I noticed the magic energy here is quite high. So this is another world… intriguing magic. Anyway, why did you summon me?"
Seeing how she went straight to the point, Ludleth didn't waste time with formalities.
"To be honest, I had no idea who I was going to summon. I was just hoping it would be someone who could help me grow stronger."
Scáthach crossed her arms, tilting her chin ever so slightly as she looked down on him.
"So you opened an interdimensional portal, summoned an entity of my caliber… hoping it would be 'someone strong,' without knowing who?"
Ludleth slouched slightly. "Yeah. When you say it like that, it does sound pretty stupid."
He knew she was right, of course. But hearing it from someone else was a whole different matter.
"You seek strength. And you turn to gods, heroes, and unknown entities without even knowing if they'll help you. Typical of humans chasing power without asking what it costs."
Scáthach closed her eyes for a moment.
Then opened them.
"But you're not the first to have a blind desire. Men, gods, monsters… all crave strength. And you're neither the most arrogant, nor the most desperate."
Ludleth looked up. "So… you're not mad that I summoned you?"
"No, not really. You've shown me something interesting."
"So… does that mean you'll help me get stronger?" the boy asked, mustering his courage.
Scáthach examined him again from head to toe.
"You think you deserve my training?"
"…No. But I need it."
Silence.
Then a faint, fleeting smile brushed the woman's lips barely visible.
Seeing she didn't answer, and afraid she might reject him, Ludleth rose to his knees.
"Please… teach me how to become stronger."
Scáthach stepped closer until she was only two steps away. Every instinct in Ludleth screamed at him to step back. But he didn't. He stood his ground.
Then she spoke.
"Not bad. Not the best I've seen, but you have potential."
Ludleth lifted his head. "Does that mean… you'll teach me?"
"I'll teach you the basics. But how much you understand depends on you. You said this is a temporary summon how much time is left?"
Only then did Ludleth realize the flaw in his plan. How could he learn anything in just one hour? And with his pathetic mana reserves, there was no way he could extend it for long.
He glanced at the system to check the time.
[Remaining time: 00:10:25]
Seeing only ten minutes left, Ludleth's face fell. His fears had come true. He had taken too long convincing her. Now that she finally agreed, there was no time to learn anything.
Luckily, a new window popped up beneath the timer.
[Would you like to save summon +45828289372 (Scáthach) to your contacts?]
[Yes] [No]
Ludleth looked at the message with mixed feelings. This system felt more and more like some alien phone one that didn't call people, but teleported them to your side.
Just to be sure, he focused on the contact function to get more information.
[Contacts: Allows you to save the numbers of previous summons to re-summon them later. This feature has limitations compared to the standard summoning function.]
Seeing that it worked exactly as he imagined, Ludleth let out a sigh of relief. He didn't know what the limitations were, but at the moment, he didn't care.
Noticing he wasn't answering, Scáthach smacked him lightly.
Ludleth clutched his head, which already hurt and now throbbed even more.
"That's what you get for zoning out when someone's asking you a question."
"Sorry… I was just checking my ability."
"Fine. So, how much time is left?"
"Around 10 minutes."
Scáthach frowned. "Doesn't look like you'll be learning much then."
The boy shook his head. "True. But while checking my ability, I found out that once someone is summoned, I can summon them again later. So… we can continue the lesson another time."
"I don't like the sound of that… but unfortunately, we don't have much time. So, tell me about your world while we still can."