Eryk crept along the top of the wall. He continues to follow the steps of the man in a neat suit below."This is ridiculous," said the crow. "You're going to get us all in trouble again as you've never done before."White was still silent, even though her wings followed Eryk's steps in silence.Eryk ignored the black crow's grunts. They had reached the end of the wall, and the man in the suit turned right toward the prison gate. For a moment, Eryk panicked. He couldn't keep following the man without being seen. But then he remembered something.Eryk jumped from the wall and ran across the dark, deserted street. At that moment, White became curious and wanted to know Eryk's next plan. The owl flapped its wings stronger and caught up with Eryk."What would you do?" asked White as it flew over Eryk's head."Finally, you're curious too? I thought you really weren't going to talk to me anymore." Eryk said while continuing to run without slowing down. "Meet me on the roof!"Eryk has reached
Eryk's attention was again diverted to the dark alley below. The man who had just emerged from the underground drainage inspection hole looked up. Instantly a feeling of horror lodged in Eryk's throat."There's something wrong with that guy's mouth," Eryk said to White and the crow perched on the ledge. "Watch his mouth. If only the beard on his face were cleaned, it would be obvious that his mouth was too wide. It was as if his cheeks had been split open in a horrible grin."Eryk's gaze was very sharp. Even though the alley was dimly lit, he could see everything clearly. Eryk realized the sharpness of his vision at long distances at night, along with his ability to understand the language of birds."Yeah, he looks more like the Joker in the bearded version!" The crow tried to be funny, but his voice sounded hoarse and noisy.A heartbeat later, Eryk realized that it was a tattoo. What the crow was joking about was not wholly wrong. The big man tattooed a permanent smile on his face."
Eryk's stomach felt like it was churning at the terrifying sight. The trauma still remains. Even though he now has the power to control summoned spirits, going straight to it and acting as if he were a hero is something Eryk always avoids.Eryk was still transfixed from his spot on the roof. Going down feels so far away. He thought he could get down there with a few jumps, but after that, what? He gulped and stepped over the ledge."That's none of my business!" muttered Erick."Yeah, that's none of your business, Wayland. I told you from the start we better get out of here. You're still following that guy. What exactly do you want to know?" protested White.Eryk refocused his mind when White's question slid into his consciousness."You're right, White. My goal of following Warden Jarvis was nothing but curiosity. And whether it's a coincidence or not, I noticed that the snake tattoo on the convict's chest was exactly the same as the snake symbol on the black-eyed man's ring.""Then? W
Eryk glanced slightly at the man who managed to grab him by the ankles. The man was wearing a police uniform. Another colleague running behind him shone a flashlight at Eryk.Eryk kicked one of his feet into the policeman's hand until his grip was released. Then, he jumped onto the iron rope that separated it from the backyard of the former tin factory.Eryk hopped over the top of the fence. He landed on the other side. Looking back, Eryk saw a dozen police officers approaching him with three or four dogs. Alland and his father were also there.Eryk slid down the dirt steps right in front of the fence and disappeared from sight."Wait!" shouted the warden."No way!" thought Eryk.The young man ran and did not stop. He took a detour and headed back towards the park again. Eryk deliberately chose the furthest path to outwit them and not follow him.Eryk peeked at each end of the street. He had to ensure no one was watching him as he climbed over the park fence. Then, he climbed up the g
Maybe the boy didn't notice. However, Eryk's hand trembled holding his dagger.On the other hand, White kept urging Eryk to get rid of the boy. It doesn't matter which way Eryk has to go. White didn't like it when their hiding place was exposed because a seven-year-old boy's prank leaked."Not!" Eryk replied to Alland's question and requested to stop at his nest. "Leave me alone!"Alland's face looked disappointed."All right… all right…," he said. "Just relax. I'm not going to force it. Give me a moment to rest. Okay? After that, I will go."Eryk continued to watch the boy suspiciously.Alland suddenly took off the backpack on his back and started to unzip it. Alland's hand gesture alerted Eryk. Reflexively, he again pointed his dagger at Alland."Hey, don't be like that!" Allan was shocked. "I'll be going soon. You don't have to threaten me. You can hurt me with that!"Alland was starting to get a little scared. He didn't really know Eryk. This was the first time Alland met Eryk in
"Hey, it's me!"Eryk was a little startled and almost jumped down from the nest. When the doves flew away, Eryk thought a human had come there following Alland's appearance. Apparently, it was just the crow who helped him last night."Should you have come making such a fuss, Black?" Eryk looked irritated."I hate those doves," complained the crow. "They always swarm and snatch my food. I just wanted to scare them a little."Suddenly, Eryk and Black fell silent. They glanced at Alland together. How shocked Black was when he realized too late that another human was in Eryk's nest."Wayland, who is this little human?" Black became alert. "I thought you didn't like dealing with other humans?"Eryk didn't answer."Is that how you talk to birds?" Alland asked enthusiastically. "Did the crow understand what you were saying? That's so cool! Can I try it? Speak to him?""Are you crazy, Son of Man?" Black shouted, flapping his wings back and forth to scare Alland.Eryk sighed and muttered to hi
Eryk always felt uneasy when he went out during the day. At night, when exploring the city for food and supplies or just strolling around, the darkness shields him from the prying eyes of humans.Moving around at night makes it freer on the streets and along rooftops. But, on land under the dazzling light of the sun, Eryk felt exposed.Eryk had to cover his head with a hood and walk with his head down. Along the sidewalk, Eryk kept his arms folded across his chest. By doing so, he could dispel people's gaze on his whereabouts."Rockwool is quite a large city," muttered Eryk. "The streets are arranged like a grid. Unfortunately, I can't read street names. Because some are written using foreign letters that I don't understand."It's as if Rockwool is a fantasy city that doesn't exist in real life. In fact, so far, Rockwool has never been found on any map.Occasionally Eryk looked up at the sky to ensure White was always with him. Now coupled with Bla
"That place?" Allan frowned. The boy looks cute and very innocent."I mean," said Eryk. "Take me to the archive room, which holds history and information about this city. You understand, right?""Well, of course. The archive room is a great destination if you want to learn about history. So, my guess was right. You like history books, Eryk."Alland acted as if he were a grown man. He tried to level up with Eryk in conversation. Even though it looks hilarious, Eryk appreciates the boy's efforts.Eryk followed behind Alland and walked between the shelves. He tried not to stare at the irresistible books all over the rows of shelves. Eryk must focus and pay attention to his goals.Alland continued walking up the stairs until he reached the second floor. They walked down the halls and corridors. And then, they turned right. Suddenly, Alland stopped."Here!" he said, pointing to a large door in front of him. "But, there is another problem."The boy turned around and faced Eryk. He grinned g
Alyssa and Joker, accompanied by Wanda, meet the Lightning Summoner. He is a tall man with a large spear weapon that can emit electricity.The man sat opposite Wanda in a cafe. Meanwhile, Alyssa and Joker stood not far from them but could still hear their conversation."Is it true that the weapon made by Iron killed Kayes?"Flash, the Lightning Summoner, looked very surprised by the information that Wanda had just conveyed.Gloomily, Wanda nodded. "That's right."Suddenly, Flash stood up and yelled angrily in front of Wanda."Why was Kayes just killed now? Did Iron mean to frame me and make me the culprit? Was Iron also the one who snatched the sealed summoned spirit from Sandra's hand? Was he the one who killed Sandra that time?"Wanda was furious. She stood up straight with her back to the cafe window and glared at Flash."Why are you asking me that? I should be the one demanding answers from you. Because only you and Iron rejected Sandra's decision to sell the sealed summoned spiri
"Joker?" shock Alyssa and Duri together.“Belinda?” asked Joker, who was no less surprised when he saw Alyssa's appearance at his weapon shop.Alyssa growled and clenched her fists. "Don't call me by that name!""Oh, sorry, I forgot. However, among the Guardian Summoners, you are known as Belinda the viper.”"Joker, what are you doing here?" asked Alyssa. "Shouldn't you be level nine?"Joker shrugged his shoulders. “You can see for yourself. I'm trading here. How could I pass up an opportunity to make money? I can easily sell my collection of antique objects here. You, I mean you guys, what brought you here?”Alyssa took a deep breath. He pulled a stool in front of the table and sat down without being invited.Joker came out from behind a counter displaying various types of rare weapons and went to the mini fridge to get a can of soda."You look really tired," Joker said as he handed Alyssa the cold soda."Yes. There's a lot going on here. And I feel no progress. Even though I have to
"I don't agree with that method!" the other Guardian Summoner members protested. "That strategy will harm the villagers.""That shouldn't worry you. Because the villagers you are referring to here are none other than the summoners themselves. Each of them should be able to fight and protect themselves. And the villagers should not relax but join in the struggle with us against the destroyers.""But-"Alyssa glared at the stubborn young man. "The battle this time was completely orchestrated by me–Alyssa Harris, vice-leader of the Guardian Summoners. Please obey my orders!"After the meeting did not go smoothly, they finally disbanded. Alyssa returns to town, where her inn is. He walked accompanied by Duri.Duri appears dressed as a warrior, although his skin is still green. Duri's body, in its original form, looked firm and muscular. He always escorted and watched over Alyssa.As soon as they entered the city gates, Alyssa and Duri gasped in shock. Above the fortress gate that protecte
After the main prize was given, which was won by Eryk, suddenly, the vast, boundless field has now turned into a city. The town's appearance resembles the cities on levels one and two.Eryk and the other participants realized that the field they had just seen was a floating island where the arena matches were usually held.Lizard immediately ran away as fast as his foot could take it. But, the testers seem to let it be."Why did you let him when you found out he was cheating?" Rosemary shouted at the level three examiner through the loudspeaker before her."According to the rules we have explained," replied the examiner. "The only rule in the land of shadows is to deal with summoners who kill each other. The examiners and organizers will not take any action concerning theft and other crimes. But, because now you are still in the level three area. Even though the match is over, I still give the same rules."Rosemary suddenly grinned and glanced at Eryk. They both nodded their heads at e
Returning to the centre of the competition arena was much more troublesome and difficult than leaving it to seek the outer limits of the field. Eryk got lost several times and walked too far. However, they started to find summoners running last and slowing down."We are getting closer to the centre of the arena. In a moment, the centre of the field should be visible.""Hey, Young Man!" said the turtle summoner who strolled. He rides his turtle. "Why did you return to the centre of the arena? Did you find the limit? You should have crossed that line to survive.""Sorry, Old Man, it seems we failed to find the outer boundary of this field. Too vast and impossible. We haven't even reached it after an hour of running.""Gosh, if you guys who are as strong and as good as this can't even find it, what about my turtle who strolls and me? How many hundreds of years would it take us to get to the outer limits of the field? This is simply impossible. I could return with you and repeat this exam
"Watch everyone!" exclaimed the examiner through the loudspeaker. "We will immediately carry out the challenge at level three without rest. You will be able to rest after going through this challenge."Everyone was making a fuss. They haven't finished calming down after the tension in the previous level two challenge. And now, when they arrive at level three, they hope to rest for a while but are offered the next battle instead."I'm a kind examiner!" said the figure through the loudspeaker. "I will not burden you with serious and difficult challenges. There is only one challenge this time. You have to find the boundary of this field. Only the first 20 participants who manage to find the field's outer boundary will be selected and will qualify for the next stage."Everyone was whispering. The remaining 40 summoners will be eliminated in half. Everyone started to get excited and threw away the tiredness and tension before. Now they welcome new challenges to defend life and death."Spec
"Trying to kill us with this stuff?" quipped one of the summoners.But she still dared to open the gift box. Her eyes immediately lit up when she saw a beautiful dress there."Wow! How did you know I wanted this beautiful dress?""Time to open the gift box!" shouted a food summoner. He let out a scream as he earned so many gold coins."Eryk, what did you get?" White asked.Eryk opened his gift box and got a giant clam shell made of crystal."I don't know if this thing can be of any use? How about you?" replied Eryk.White opened her gift box and showed a pen made of goose down. The cell has solid toxic ink."Oh, I got some golden hairclips here. Not too bad," said Rosemary.Then they turned Black."Why haven't you opened your gift box yet, Black?""I was too scared to open it. I'm not sure if I deserve a prize? I've never had a surprise before," said Black, who looked such a melodrama when he received his first gift box."Just try it," said a summoner. "Your gifts are quite interestin
"The competition has just started," muttered someone in front of the level two area surveillance monitor.The figure in the black robe pressed a button.After rescuing the summoners almost mired in the crater, Eryk and the others started to rush off to find another place with fewer traps."We should head back to town. This forest is not safe at all. And I'm not sure there will be an exit in this forest.""I'm sorry," said Rosemary. "I have already given the wrong advice.""There's nothing to be sorry for, Rose. We are all struggling and trying our best."They returned to the city. While on their way to the plaza, they saw that many summoners had died, trapped in a battle, or by attacking each other with their teammates. Everything was prepared by the testers at level two."In fact, I suspect this level two area has no way out," Black said defensively. He was still carrying Rose on his back.While in the city centre, Eryk accidentally found a building slightly different from the usual
"Crow summoner spies?" Eryk asked. "I guess that's a bit impossible. If it is true that this land of shadows upholds rule and justice."Their conversation was cut short by an announcement."Participants, we have a little surprise for you on this wild night. The competition will be carried out earlier than the actual schedule."The two summoned spirits, Eryk and Rosemary, were surprised to hear the sound from the loudspeaker. Even though they are sure that a new competition will be held tomorrow morning. Suddenly the schedule was accelerated tonight, and they had no preparation."Testing at level two this time is a bit different. You don't need to come to the arena. We'll do it out in the open."Eryk and the summoners on the second floor also clearly heard the announcement. They all started scattering out of the house and their respective comfortable places.The summoners gathered in the plaza and filled the streets with panicked faces. They need clarification.Midnight and they were f