The Summoner and Her Adorable Demon

The dark mage Lysado, notorious on bounty boards, was rarely provoked by anyone. Not only was he a dual seventh-tier master in fire magic, a destructive magic type, and dark magic, a curse type, but he was also highly skilled in spatial magic. He commanded a fearsome army of familiars, including the high-level dark dragon Asar. Naturally, Lysado couldn't keep hundreds of familiars, including those from the Abyss, with him at all times. Instead, they roamed freely within their designated territories on the continent, only responding to summons when their master needed them.

While powerful familiars experienced significant energy decay due to the laws of distance, their strength often remained sufficient to handle ordinary opponents. Most people recognized Lysado's crest and avoided provoking his familiars, knowing that doing so would invite nightmare-level retaliation.

But this time, Lysado received a distress signal from one of his main familiars, the dark dragon Asar. At first, he thought Asar was joking. Who in their right mind would challenge a dark dragon in some remote swamp, let alone force it to call for help? Yet as the signals grew increasingly urgent, Lysado had no choice but to believe it. However, the distance was too great for him to intervene directly. The most efficient solution was to summon Asar to his side.

Since the dark dragon's massive size made summoning it in the city impractical, Lysado left the annual Dark Banquet under the pretense of an excuse and found a secluded, empty location to open a summoning gate. Creating a portal to summon a contracted familiar was a simple task, and the gate opened instantly. However, in the brief time it took to set up the ritual, what arrived was no longer the dark dragon itself but its pitiful soul fragment.

"You were… killed?" Lysado stared incredulously at the wisp of dragon soul.

"My great master, if not for our soul contract, your humble servant's very soul would have been devoured by her!" the dragon soul wailed pitifully.

"Who!" Lysado's eyes narrowed dangerously. It had been years since anyone dared to challenge him.

"A purple-haired girl… accompanied by a blue spectral familiar. Your servant doesn't know her…" The dragon soul shuddered slightly as it spoke.

Lysado's killing intent surged. "You were defeated by an unknown little girl? A spectral familiar can't even harm you!"

"But… but that girl could wield wind, fire, and lightning magic, all at least fourth-tier. She also used Life Dew from the goddess Eluna to heal herself. My attacks were completely ineffective against her. She casually threw out a pile of third-tier magic scrolls—she must be a scroll maker… Your servant simply couldn't outlast her…"

"A scroll maker devoted to the goddess Eluna? Likely a skilled spatial mage as well. Scroll makers always excel in teleportation magic. Even if I went there now, your body must have been completely dismantled. To a scroll maker, a dark dragon's corpse is a treasure trove of materials…" Lysado's voice turned icy. "To think someone would dare covet my materials. She must have a death wish!"

As he spoke, Lysado summoned another familiar—the fear demon Finkat. This massive demon, with muscular limbs and fleshy wings, was an extremely rare fire-elemental demon from the Abyss. Lysado took a drop of Finkat's blood, its molten consistency burning the ground into scorched earth upon contact. But Lysado expertly controlled the flow, using the blood to draw a summoning circle without letting it spill aimlessly. His confidence in his drawing skills was evident—he didn't need magic powder to stabilize the process.

Due to the great distance, an instantaneous teleportation would require a ninth-tier teleportation scroll. However, the complexity of creating scrolls, their reliance on specific materials, and the need for compact designs made them difficult to produce. A ninth-tier scroll was only marginally faster than an eighth-tier temporary teleportation array. The latter could use fresh materials, wasn't limited by size, and allowed the addition of amplification arrays and materials like magic crystals to enhance its effects. However, the materials required for such an array were extremely high-grade, such as advanced demon blood or eighth-tier magic crystals—luxuries on the continent, but items Lysado had in abundance. For pursuing the culprit, an eighth-tier array, even if slower than instantaneous teleportation by half a day, would suffice.

After completing the array, Lysado channeled his magic into it, activating the circle. A circular portal appeared, and the dragon soul looked on with excitement, knowing its master was about to avenge it. Sure enough, Lysado stepped through without hesitation.

Meanwhile, Phyllis had used a pre-prepared teleportation scroll to instantly arrive at Warwick Village. She handed a piece of dark dragon scale to the village elder.

"Don't worry. The man-eating beast has been dealt with. Here's its scale," she said casually.

The elder stared at the palm-sized scale, unaware that it was one of the smallest pieces from the dragon. "W-what kind of beast was it? Judging by the scale, it must have been huge."

"Um… well… it looked like a mutated crystal-armored lizard," Phyllis lied, unwilling to reveal that she had single-handedly defeated a dark dragon, even if its energy was only one percent of normal.

The elder was overjoyed, relieved that hunting and traveling would no longer be plagued by the beast's attacks. "That's wonderful! Thank you, esteemed mage! I'll fetch your reward immediately. Is 3,000 gold coins too little? I'll add five rubies as well—this is all the village's savings. That beast caused us so much damage recently…"

In the past, Phyllis would have accepted the reward without hesitation. But having just looted a dark dragon's hoard, a few thousand coins and some rubies no longer interested her. Seeing how the village had suffered under the dragon, she waved him off.

"It's fine. Consider it a service to the community. But, Elder, I do have a small favor to ask."

Surprised and deeply moved by her generosity, the elder grabbed Phyllis's hands. "Thank you! Please, tell me what you need!"

Phyllis pulled Alpha forward. "Could you find him some suitable clothes?"

"Uh, who is this?" The elder was puzzled. Phyllis had gone alone—how had she returned with someone else? And in such a dangerous swamp? The boy looked thin and pale, unarmed and unimposing, certainly not the type to survive alone.

"This is a boy I found lost in the swamp. Poor thing got separated from his caravan. Slimes ate his clothes and belongings. If I hadn't found him, he would've died out there. He doesn't have anywhere to go right now, so he'll work as my assistant until we find his family in the city," Phyllis explained, pushing Alpha's head down to make him look even more pitiful.

"Oh, young man, you're lucky to have such a kind benefactor! Working for a mage like her, you'll never want for anything," The village elder couldn't stop praising Phyllis as he led Alpha to change into new clothes. Warwick Village, being a hunting settlement, had attire primarily made from leather. Their main material was red-scaled crocodile leather, abundant in the surrounding swamps. Most of the leather armor was dark red, adorned with exquisite gold embroidery along the edges. Belts, wrist guards, and boots were equipped with metal buckles, allowing easy attachment of daggers and quivers. The gear was practical and well-suited for outdoor riding.

Since Phyllis had refused any reward, the elder was especially generous. He gave Alpha two identical sets of brand-new equipment, several changes of undergarments, a beautifully carved crocodile-tooth dagger, and a python-skin longbow.

"These items may not be of much use with a powerful mage like you around," the elder said, smiling, "but they're special to our village. Consider them a souvenir."

Phyllis examined Alpha, now dressed in dark red leather armor, with a longbow slung over his back, a dagger strapped to his waist, alchemy apprentice gloves on his hands, and her apprentice robe draped over it all. The ensemble was certainly odd, but it surprisingly suited him. "Clothes really do make the man," she thought.

Although red-scaled crocodile leather wasn't particularly valuable in Warwick Village, it offered decent physical and magical protection. As a unique product of the swamp, it was considered a rare material in the Flandre Kingdom. The dagger, meant for hunting, had even been coated with black blind snake venom, a potent paralyzing poison. Phyllis could only hope Alpha wouldn't misuse it.

Satisfied with Alpha's new attire, Phyllis took his hand, pleased, and they left Warwick Village together. Finding a secluded spot, she pulled out a stack of teleportation scrolls. Tearing one open, she activated it. After six consecutive teleportations, they arrived at a tower surrounded by towering mountains.

This cost-efficient teleportation method used multiple low-tier scrolls to substitute for a high-tier one. However, it required perfect coordination between teleportation coordinates and precise pre-calculation. Clearly, Phyllis had planned this series of teleportations in advance.

"This is my home—Phyllis's Alchemy Laboratory!" she declared proudly, gesturing toward the tall tower. "Welcome home, Alpha!"

Home? The concept was foreign to Alpha. In some distant memory, he vaguely recalled the notion of a community, but it had never been something he could truly call "home." Nonetheless, he followed Phyllis silently, already sensing the faint magical energy of the dark dragon materials she had transported to the tower.