’’Ugh!’’
Theo felt the world twist around him.
A strange sensation spread through his body as if he’d been folded up countless times.
Seconds ticked by as he held the urge to throw up.
Finally, his feet hit solid ground once more.
Theo slowly opened his eyes, a hint of surprise immediately flashing through them.
Instead of an endless white void like he’d imagined, an enormous grass field lay out in front of him.
A gentle breeze swept through the fields, causing the tall grass to sway softly from side to side.
’’Whoa...’’ he muttered, squinting his eyes.
Far in the distance, massive mountains rose high into the sky, some of their snow-covered peaks even disappearing between the clouds.
Several crystal-clear rivers ran through the landscape, reflecting the bright sunlight.
Theo stared at the sight in amazement.
’’This is the summoning dimension?’’ he mumbled quietly. ’’What a beautiful paradise...’’
Buzz!
A faint noise echoed out beneath him.
Theo instinctively looked down.
The same circle of swirling white masses had reappeared beneath him, stretching wider and wider.
Within seconds, it reached a size well over a hundred yards long in each direction.
Theo’s expression turned serious immediately.
’’It’s starting now.’’
One by one, massive bones slowly pushed up out of the swirling mass.
Gritting his teeth, Theo felt the same pressure slam down on him as before.
’No,’ he thought, sucking in a deep breath. ’It’s a lot less than before.’
Theo straightened his back, forcing himself to remain standing.
The gigantic bones continued emerging with no trouble.
First came an enormous wolf skull.
Then a long and thick spine, followed by its ribs and each limb.
Before long, the complete skeleton of the S-rank wind wolf lay in front of him.
’The real trouble starts now,’ he thought, bracing himself.
The swirling mass rippled once more.
This time, a massive, emerald-colored crystal slowly floated into the sky.
WHOOSH!
Violent wind mana instantly erupted, flattening the tall grass for hundreds of yards.
Theo instinctively raised an arm to shield his face.
Yet, the winds did not harm him in the slightest.
’The S-rank Celestial Skylark’s core...’
Though the core wasn’t as big as the bones, it was still the size of an entire car!
Theo slowly lowered his arm, feeling his heart pound rapidly.
’Now the final one,’ he thought, clenching his fists.
As if responding to his thoughts, the final section of the swirling mass suddenly began trembling.
Ripples spread across its white surface, only settling around Theo.
Theo’s heartbeat gradually accelerated.
Suddenly, a strange mana washed through his body, sending shivers down his spine.
’What’s happening?!’ he thought, frantically looking around.
For a brief moment, the mass stopped trembling.
Slowly, a crystal no bigger than his hand rose out of the ground.
Theo’s eyes widened slightly.
Waves of green wind arcs burst forth everywhere.
Yet, looking past all of those, he could see the image of a creature inside the crystal.
A large, snow-white horse jumped around, its silver-white mane dancing in the wind.
Massive wings unfurled themselves by its side, while its sharp horn shimmered in emerald light.
Theo almost couldn’t tear his eyes away.
’So that’s a Galehorn Unicorn,’ he thought, amazed. ’A creature descending from the legendary Wind Kirin bloodline...’
Before he could think any further, the swirling mass underneath him began to violently shake.
The strange mana that’d entered his body disappeared that same instant.
’Shit!’ he thought, snapping out of his daze.
Suddenly, the swirling white mass gathered into a single floating sphere.
It rapidly started sucking in the excess mana from the soul fragment, changing its pure white color into an emerald green.
A second later, it shot straight up into the sky, going so fast Theo couldn’t even follow it.
BOOOOOM!
A massive explosion rang out.
The entire sky was dyed emerald green as massive shockwaves erupted in every direction.
Nearby rivers overflowed, every blade of grass was flattened, while the distant mountains echoed with deafening rumbles.
Even the clouds high above were violently torn apart, revealing a perfectly clear blue sky!
Theo dug both feet into the ground, barely managing to remain standing.
His clothes whipped violently in the wind as his heart nearly stopped.
’What... what is this?!’ he thought. ’The book didn’t talk about this at all!’
After a few seconds, the violent winds finally calmed down slightly.
But a strange feeling in his stomach told him this was far from over.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! RUMBLE!
Theo’s hair stood on end.
Everywhere around him, strange noises began echoing out.
’Something’s coming!’
One after another, distant figures emerged over the horizon.
Massive green wolves, enormous forest-green bears, graceful deer with crystal antlers, gigantic birds circled high above, casting large shadows over the grasslands.
Even creatures he couldn’t recognize quietly appeared from the foot of the mountains.
Theo didn’t move.
His instincts were very, very clear.
’Each one of these creatures is many times stronger than I am.’
None of the creatures made a sound as they approached.
They simply watched him.
More and more continued arriving until every direction was filled with magical beasts.
Theo couldn’t help but swallow.
’There are... thousands...’
Not one of them came close, though.
Instead, they stopped a mile away and simply kept watching.
Just then, the massive shadows disappeared, causing Theo to instinctively look up.
All the birds had suddenly cleared out from the sky.
For a brief moment... everything fell silent.
The countless magical beasts surrounding the grasslands all remained completely motionless, though their gazes had locked onto the sky.
CRACK!
A deafening sound echoed throughout the grasslands.
Theo’s pupils shrank immediately.
A massive emerald crack slowly spread through the sky itself.
The crack rapidly widened, stretching from one horizon to the other as blinding light poured through the opening.
’Why... is the sky breaking?’ Theo thought, his heart pounding so hard all other noise faded. ’I thought this was just going to be a normal summoning ceremony!’
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The sky continued breaking further and further.
Suddenly, a cold, unfamiliar mana descended, causing the ground to tremble.
One after another, the surrounding creatures lowered themselves.
’They’re... bowing?’
His gaze slowly drifted back to the enormous rift.
NEIGHHH!
A majestic cry echoed through the sky.
Several snow-white figures burst from the light.
One after another, beautiful winged unicorns galloped across the sky as though running upon invisible ground.
Their silver-white manes flowed elegantly behind them while emerald horns glowed with a bright light.
Every step they took caused countless emerald motes of light to scatter through the air.
Theo’s mouth opened slightly as he stared at the scene in amazement.
’Galehorn Unicorns...’
There weren’t just one or two.
Dozens of them raced through the heavens, circling above the endless grasslands before slowing their pace.
Their emerald eyes gradually turned toward the widening rift.
One after another... even they lowered their heads.
Theo’s heart skipped a beat.
’Even they...?’
The light beyond the rift suddenly darkened.
A deep emerald glow slowly appeared from within.
CRAAAAAACK!
The crack in the sky violently widened.
A gigantic claw slowly reached through the opening.
Its emerald scales shimmered in the sunlight, each scale being larger than Theo himself.
Another claw appeared... followed by an insanely long serpent-like body.
Long silver whiskers drifted gracefully through the air, while two massive green antlers sat atop its head, branching upward like trees.
Theo’s heart nearly stopped.
’Is that... a Kirin?!’