My Summons Are Mythical Beasts

Where to find such a beast, though, was another problem that he was not in a hurry to solve.

The first beast that was granted to the summoner was somewhat random and based on the grade of the grimoire. However, for the next and upcoming beasts, the summoner had the freedom to choose as long as it was within the limits of the grimoire.

As an Unranked Grade grimoire, Lucas' grimoire could only allow him to contract with Unranked Grade and Iron Grade beasts at most. The strength or the star-rank of the beast that he contracts should not exceed his own star-rank by a large margin; otherwise, the contract process would fail and it might cause him some backlash.

Lucas did not want to hastily choose his second beast. He wanted to plan it very carefully to avoid uncertainties.

For starters, the beast that he needs to contract should be an Iron Star Grade. That way, after it receives a skill from the system, its strength would be multiplied even more, and it might even become even stronger than Spot.

Lucas eventually suppressed his elation down as he closed his grimoire.

Although this was an important thing, it was not as important as his current situation.

He might have stabilized himself, and the threat of Asher was no longer around for the time being, but he still needed to return to Twilight City.

Recalling the faces of his mother and father, Lucas also knew that he must return in a hurry.

Asher and his group were still there, just waiting to create havoc, after all.

His worries grew as he became restless. However, knowing that it would do him no good, he decided to close his eyes and meditate to calm his emotions down.

As he closed his eyes, he finally decided what to do next.

The first thing was to recover for a few more hours. After that, he would need to assess his current location so that he could eventually return to Twilight City. Not only must he warn everyone about Asher and his group's plan, he must also return immediately, as he was more worried about his parents's safety.

According to the information he knew, when a dungeon forcefully ejects a human out of it, the distance would not be that far from the dungeon's location.
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With how things were going on, though, Lucas just hoped that this was still the same case as what has happened to him. After all, he was sent out of the dungeon earlier than what was supposed to be the limit that everyone knew, so who was to say that he was not sent out extremely far away as well?

Fortunately, his current location seemed to be devoid of any beast. It seems that the dungeon still took some pity for him after all.

Lucas rested for a total of five hours before he felt a little refreshed. His Spiritual Energy reserve was also now at full capacity. He checked Spot's status and realized that he still seemed to be recovering. Lucas did not bother him for now as he looked up at the huge tree near him.

After hesitating for a moment, Lucas decided to climb to the top of it and see if he could see where the Twilight City was from there.

Fortunately, the tree has little branches here and there, so Lucas did not encounter a lot of trouble as he climbed to the top. The only problem he experienced was the fact that his wounds kept scraping against the rough bark, causing them to ache a lot.

Nevertheless, he just gritted his teeth and continued to ascend upward.

From his estimate, the tree was at least forty meters tall. Lucas had a good estimate, as the tree itself was almost as tall as the top-most part of the White Stone Cliff.

Eventually, Lucas reached the topmost part of the tree. Trying to look down, Lucas felt his knees grow weak as he saw how high he was from the ground. Hardening his resolve, Lucas ignored the feeling of unease as he looked around from the vantage point of view.

As he looked around, Lucas could not help but sigh in disappointment. Although he considered himself well-read and well-informed, he still could not tell where he was from his current location.

All he could see around was the towering trees, as well as a huge mountain in the distance.

The mountain was also unfamiliar to him, meaning that it was nowhere near Twilight City. After all, there might be some lush forest near the city, but there was no mountain near it at all.

The thing that he feared the most has indeed come true. The dungeon had indeed sent him extremely far away from the city. Having nothing to blame, Lucas thought that it should be the Boundary Fog's fault.

Looking up, Lucas saw the sun hovering twenty degrees over the horizon.

At the very least, Lucas could now tell the four cardinal directions through it.

The distance of the sun also allowed him to know that it was probably over an hour since the sun had risen from the east.

Releasing a deep and disappointed sigh, Lucas descended down the tree as he considered his next action.

Since he could not tell where the Twilight City was, he could only try his luck and go to one of the cardinal directions. Considering the name of the city, Lucas decided to go west and try his luck from there; it was also where the sole mountain in the area was located.

Even if he could not find the Twilight City in the short run, as long as he stumbled upon another city or another settlement, his problems would be more or less solved as he would be able to report what he knew to the authorities.

The forest that he was in, though, was quite massive and has extended for god knows how long. Still, Lucas did not plan to give up just like that yet.

Gathering his things, Lucas began his journey to the west.

Unlike in cities or anywhere near it, the wilderness housed a lot of dungeons that had not been conquered yet. Due to such reasons, the wilderness was now teeming with various kinds of creatures that came from the outbreak of different kinds of dungeons.

In the wilderness, one would not be able to know what kind of beast they would encounter. Unlike inside a regulated dungeon where everything seemed to be in a constant state since the moment it was conquered, the wilderness has a lot of uncertainties that one would not be able to guard.

One moment you might face an extremely weak beast, and the next moment you might face an extremely strong one.

Although the area that he was in now seemed to be devoid of any beast activities, Lucas did not dare to underestimate it, as he knew that everything was not as simple as it seems.

With his injuries and worries, Lucas walked very slowly and carefully. In his hand, Lucas held the remaining one Armadon Tonfa from the pair that Senior Ethan had given him. The other one was left inside the dungeon, while this one was luckily pulled along with him by the gate.

Even with a weapon in hand, though, Lucas was still not entirely sure about his safety.

Danger might sprang up at the next moment, so he decided to summon the grimoire in advance so that he could summon Spot the moment something goes awry. Fortunately, summoning and maintaining the grimoire has no cost aside from some mental fatigue, so Lucas decided to hold it for his own safety.

Who knew if it was due to his luck or if this place was truly devoid of any beast, but even after a few hours of walking with a lot of stops in between, Lucas still had not encountered any beast.

Although he felt fortunate, Lucas still could not help but think that it was very unusual.

In the information he knew—from the news, from the books, and from words of mouth—the wilderness was full of beasts of different grades and ranks.

Having not encountered any even after a few hours of walking, it was only normal to feel that it was unusual.

Still, as long as there were no other complications, Lucas prayed that the situation would stay as it was until he reached a human settlement or met a fellow human.

Lucas stopped for a moment and took a sip from the water canteen that he had been drinking sparingly since earlier. Since he doesn't have any food, he could only satiate his hunger through the water, but it was slowly dwindling with every sip that he took.

The canteen continued to grow light as Lucas continued to move forward.

It was true that the danger of beasts seemed to be nonexistent in this area, but his situation was still grim.

Could it be that he would not die from a beast's sharp claw but instead from hunger and famish?

Even though he was reluctant to admit it, his situation seemed to be even worse than encountering a beast.

Another two hours had passed; Lucas decided not to take a sip during the past hours. Only a quarter of the water remained in his canteen, and he decided to ration it carefully, ensuring it would last him a few more days if necessary.

Growing weak, Lucas was already at his wits end when he finally saw salvation a few meters away from him.