Rusty stepped into the summoning circle as instructed. The runes around him flared to life, pulsing with magical light that reflected off the high ceiling of the summoning chamber. For a moment, he felt the familiar sensation of his essence being pulled away. But before the summoning ritual could begin, something unexpected appeared before him once more.

By choosing ‘Mystwood Academy Exam’, you have increased your synergy with the summoner ‘Gwendolin Rainstar’. You are now able to use an item box. Please select the items you wish to take with you.

"Oh?"

A system window appeared, explaining everything in detail. After he finished reading it, the screen vanished and was replaced by another interface. On the left side, there was a small box divided into four squares. On the right, a large list of items appeared. He recognized all of them as things he had stored in his storage and stash tab.

"So, does this mean I’ll have access to my stash tab while being summoned?"

"It seems so. Although it’s quite small, you won’t be able to carry more than one main weapon or a few smaller items," Alexander replied.

Rusty began to reconsider his loadout. He had planned to use a setup similar to last time. In his hands, he held a shield and a polearm with multiple edges and a blunt hammer head on the reverse side. However, now that he could bring a second weapon, perhaps it was time to make a change.

It’s not a one-on-one fight. I’ll be in a forest. Maybe I should approach this differently.

After thinking it through, he decided to replace the polearm with a halberd as his main weapon. In the item box, he stored a mace for situations that required close combat and blunt force. At his side, he strapped on a short sword as a secondary weapon. With this setup, he felt ready to face a wide variety of enemies. He wished he had room to bring a bow and some arrows, but the box was simply too small for that.

"This should do it. I’ll see you two later!"

"Take care, Rusty."

Alexander said, and then in an instant, the summoning circle flared with renewed brilliance. A high-pitched hum resonated in the air as mana surged through the runes. The world around him blurred, colors melting into streaks of light before collapsing into shadow. He could feel his essence being pulled away yet again and he wondered, what new foes awaited him in that world of summoners?

******

"Is this really the extent of what she can do? I thought she was supposed to be special. Was her victory over Lady Grandwell just a fluke?"

"It must have been. Look at that thing… a child could summon a better monster."

"Hahaha, what is that small thing even supposed to do? Is this really it, or is she hiding her true power?"

The voices of three teenagers echoed through the forest. Each of them wore the black and blue robes of Mystwood Academy. Their attention was fixed on a girl standing nearby, wearing a robe of pure black that hung loosely over her thin frame. It looked slightly too large for her, as if it had been made for someone else.

Gwendolin Rainstar stood with her back against a wide, gnarled tree, her arms trembling at her sides. Leaves drifted down around her, rustled by the summoned monkey’s heavy steps as it circled her. The hobgoblin, tall and armed with a crude club, growled low, a toothy grin spreading over its misshapen face. The snake, a half-meter-thick hissed and coiled around a nearby branch, ready to strike at its master's whim.

Across from her stood three students from a different class, something made clear by the robes they wore. At the academy they attended, students were ranked, and their clothing reflected their class status. Those from the most prestigious families or with the highest grades were placed in Class A. They wore ornate silver and blue robes and carried badges engraved with their class rank.

The three students now facing her each wore a badge marked with the letter B. In contrast, Gwendolin belonged to the lowest class—Class D. Her plain black robe and simple badge reflected that status clearly.

Gwendolin’s imp crouched in front of her, tiny clawed hands raised in a mock battle stance. Its dull red skin and curled horns made it look more mischievous than menacing, and its wings fluttered uselessly, too small to lift its body more than a few meters.

“Pathetic.” 

Spat one of the boys, a lanky teen with sunken eyes and glasses perched on his freckled face.

“An F-rank imp? Are you serious?”

The other two chuckled.

“Do you know how many nobles would pay to see Grandwell’s name dragged through the mud? If we rough her up a bit, maybe House Grandwell will finally take us seriously. Maybe even sponsor us.”

Said the second boy, whose round, pudgy face matched his rotund frame. His belly jiggled as he laughed.

“That’s true. Lady Kathrine will be pleased!”

Added the third, shorter than the others and distinguished by a sharp, birdlike nose.

At the mention of Katherine Grandwell, Gwendolin’s breath caught. That name had haunted her since the duel. She had barely won, but the victory had brought her nothing but whispered threats and growing hostility. Now, these students, eager to win the favor of the noble house she had humiliated, had chosen the forest and her isolation to carry out their plan.

“Why…?” 

She whispered, her voice shaking. 

“Why are you doing this? I never did anything to you.”

The pudgy boy sneered and took a step forward, his monkey summon echoing his movement with a thud of its fists against the mossy ground.

“You did something the moment you embarrassed a Grandwell. You don’t understand how things work here, do you?”

“People like you don’t beat people like her.”

The sharp-nosed boy added, practically spitting the words. 

“Your family's disgraced, your grades are garbage, and now you strut around like some kind of prodigy? That duel was a joke. A fluke. And we're here to make it right, show everyone who you really are.”

The imp, sensing its summoner’s fear, flared its tiny wings and let out a shrill screech. It stood its ground with surprising defiance, though it was dwarfed in every way by the monsters surrounding it. Still, it was a summoned creature, one that did not know fear, and it hurled itself at the three enemies to protect its master.

The hobgoblin cracked its knuckles and stepped forward with a snarl. The imp didn’t stand a chance. Its head was crushed beneath the hobgoblin’s club, and its limp body was then swatted aside by the monstrous ape-like creature beside it. It slammed into a nearby tree, then shimmered and dissolved into particles of blue mana. The imp had been destroyed without landing a single clean hit.

“Hahaha, what was that? It's so weak!”

“N… noo…”

Gwendolin clenched her fists, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. Since her recent victory, she had trained hard to become a better summoner. But despite her efforts, she still couldn’t summon anything close to that living suit of armor. All she had managed were weak creatures like goblins and imps. Now her only summon had been slain. There was no way to defend herself. Even if she tried to call forth another creature, the three students could easily attack before it had time to manifest. At least, that’s what she believed. Fortunately for her, the three boys were young and full of pride.

“Was that it? You can do better than this, right? How about this—we're generous lords. We’ll give you another chance. Go ahead and summon something else. We won’t even interrupt you~”

The freckled boy who was the master of the snake shrugged and gave her a mocking bow.

"Come on, Summoner Rainstar. Dazzle us."

Gwendolin wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her robe. Her fingers trembled, her heart pounded painfully in her chest, and humiliation burned through her veins like poison. She was angry. Angry at her helplessness. Being a useless summoner with no real skill was something she had nearly made peace with. But then she had been given hope. And now she regretted ever holding on to it.

She had always known it must have been a fluke. That creature from the duel had been pure luck. Nothing more. Maybe it would be smarter to bow her head and apologize to the three boys before things got worse. Her eyes dropped to the crystal pendant in her hand. It was a keepsake from her late grandmother, the woman who had always told her to be brave and never give up.

To summon a monster, a summoning circle was required. It could be created in a few ways. One method involved drawing it on a solid surface using magic, like the permanent one used during her duel. Another method allowed summoners to form the circle themselves, often with the help of enchanted items. 

The pendant she wore was one of those items. She gripped it with both hands and began to focus her mana. A single tear slipped from her cheek and touched the crystal. As it did, light flickered beneath her feet. A summoning circle started to form around her. A strange chill ran down her spine. Something was coming. Something that felt familiar.

“Oh, she is actually summoning something?”

The smallest of the boys sneered as he watched the magical circle take shape beneath Gwendolin. He had expected her to fail, convinced that she would crumble under pressure like she had so many times before. To him, it was just another attempt doomed to collapse. Above the circle, a faint gray mass began to form. It looked like nothing more than a wisp of smoke or light.

"What is that, a will-o'-wisp?"

The pudgy boy burst into laughter, joining his companion in mocking the scene. To both of them, the summoned creature looked even weaker than the imp that had been crushed moments ago. But their laughter faded. The gray light began to shift.

It pulsed once. Then again. Slowly, it ignited into a blaze, no longer gray but rippling with color. Hues of violet, deep blue, and soft gold danced across its surface, resembling the sky at twilight just before night fully took hold.

"Huh?"

Out of the collapsing light came the sound of metal grinding against metal. A powerful footstep pressed into the mossy forest floor with a thud that made the hobgoblin pause mid-step and glance toward its summoner. Leaves trembled. Birds fled the canopy above. Even the snake recoiled slightly from its branch.

Then came another step.

A figure emerged from the fading glow, tall and imposing. It stood at two meters, clad in gleaming grayish armor that reflected the swirling mana of the summoning circle. In its right hand rested a halberd, its blade polished and sharp. A short sword hung from its waist, and a kite shield was firmly gripped in its left hand.

The creature said nothing at first. Its helmet, hollow and expressionless, slowly turned as it surveyed the three summoned monsters before it. Then it shifted slightly, turning to face Gwendolin. A voice followed, quiet and familiar. Only she could hear it.

"Oh, hello Gwendolin. Are these my opponents? They don’t look as tough as the last ones..."

His tone was calm, almost playful, and still carried that same youthful note she remembered. The form was different this time, not quite the towering iron behemoth she had summoned during the duel. Smaller, more compact. But the mana radiating from this living armor was stronger, far stronger than anything she had ever summoned before.

"R-Rusty?"

She could hardly believe it. The same monster that had helped her win the duel before now stood before her once more. She had almost given up hope. Shame welled up in her chest at the memory of her doubt, at how quickly she had lost faith in herself.

But before she could slip back into self-pity, her summon spoke again.

"You remembered my name!"

Just like previously, the monster had a mind and character of its own. It took a step towards her without being asked to but stopped in his tracks as he heard the other monsters reacting. The hobgoblin that had so easily crushed the imp shifted its stance, nostrils flaring, senses screaming danger. The monkey summon let out a low hoot and backed slightly toward its summoner. Even the snake, cold-blooded and aloof, slithered back along the branch as if it was trying to seek the assistance of the other two monsters. The sheer pressure Rusty gave off in that moment silenced the laughter of the boys.

“W-Wait… what is that?” 

The freckled boy muttered, adjusting his glasses with a trembling hand.

“I don’t know, but it doesn’t look like an F-rank.” 

Said the pudgy one, suddenly sweating despite the cool forest air.

“But that can’t be. She’s from D class, a failure!” 

The short one snapped. 

“There’s no way she could summon something like…”

Before the young summoner could finish, Rusty moved. There was no warning, no glowing magic, no dramatic technique. Just pure speed, unusual for a living suit of armor. One moment he stood calmly beside Gwendolin. The next, he was already within striking distance of the hobgoblin, his halberd sweeping through the air in a single fluid motion. The beast raised its club in a desperate attempt to block, but the halberd sliced through the crude weapon like straw and continued its path.

*CLANG CRACK!*

The blow didn’t just knock the hobgoblin down. It split the creature’s torso from shoulder to hip in a burst of blue mana. The monster let out a brief howl before vanishing into shimmering particles. One was gone, but two still remained.

“WHAT!?”

All three summoners shouted in unison as one of their creatures was cut down. They tried to regroup, but their opponent pressed on. Rusty shifted again, this time launching himself straight at the monkey summon. He landed squarely on its broad chest and slammed the butt of his halberd down with the force of a falling meteor. The beast staggered under the blow. Before it could recover, Rusty flipped the halberd in midair and brought the blade down into the creature’s shoulder, then dragged it across its chest with a screech of tearing flesh.

The monkey gave a panicked cry as the summoning spell holding it together unraveled. With a crack of dispersing mana, it exploded into fragments of blue light and vanished like the first. The remaining snake hissed furiously but didn’t attack. Instead, it turned and slithered away along with the three boys, who were already fleeing as if their lives depended on it.

“We won’t forget this, Gwendolin Rainstar!”

“You won’t get away with this!”

They hurled threats over their shoulders, but their feet moved faster than their mouths. Rusty watched them go, seemingly puzzled, and made no effort to pursue. He rested the halberd against the ground and turned to Gwendolin.

“Can I call you Gwen instead? Gwendolin is kind of a mouthful… but I guess I don’t have a mouth!”

“Uh…”

Gwendolin was speechless. She had somehow managed to summon the strange living armor again, but it clearly had a will of its own. Trying to control it felt impossible…