Chapter 61: The dangers of a solitary journey - The Guardian System: The strongest Summoner's quest to save his family - NovelsTime

The Guardian System: The strongest Summoner's quest to save his family

Chapter 61: The dangers of a solitary journey

Author: PilgrimJagger
updatedAt: 2025-10-08

CHAPTER 61: THE DANGERS OF A SOLITARY JOURNEY

Two weeks. Fourteen days since Reidar had watched the walls of Three Lakes fade behind him.

The comfort of human voices and meals shared around a fire was already disappearing, and in truth, it started when he left the place.

Reidar was alone again; he had been for the past two weeks. His only companions were the creatures he had summoned.

His Rift-Sprite Squad, his Primal Pack, and the Bone Militia were currently scouting ahead.

They made the right choice by staying back.

Reidar couldn’t think otherwise. Not after witnessing entire towns swallowed by unnatural forests, not after fighting creatures that defied all logic, and certainly not after surviving fourteen days of ferocious danger that would have broken anyone else.

Reidar remembered the final meeting in Malcolm’s war room. Maps were spread across the table, marked with red circles and grim annotations.

George stood by the window, shoulders slumped not in defeat but with the heavy weight of a choice already made. Reidar understood completely. Family was a chain you couldn’t break, not even for survival. He saw that same anchor he himself had in George’s eyes.

Marie couldn’t leave, so George was tied to Three Lakes. The others had people to find too, but they weren’t confident they could make it. They were scared that even with Reidar’s power, they’d die if they got separated from him.

It was one thing to go from the gas station to Three Lakes. They hadn’t had a choice back then. But now they had a safe place to get stronger, with people helping them along the way.

It wasn’t just that. Reidar knew he couldn’t compromise when his family was in danger. If George and the others came along, he’d have had to put off the rescue to help them find their own families, and they’d leave him the moment they did. It was only natural. He would have done the same.

They had safety in Three Lakes, slowly leveling up with Malcolm’s help, and honestly, the odds were bad. Besides, Reidar couldn’t carry their fear on top of his own. It was already eating him up inside. He just nodded, accepting their choice without another word. They chose to stay.

I travel faster alone, anyway.

The trees towered above like giant columns and had trunks so wide they looked like they could swallow a house whole.

The air smelled of damp earth, rotting leaves, and old blood. He pushed through hanging moss, catching distant wildfire smoke. Every scent was a signpost now.

One of his wolves returned from scouting. Reidar had told it to only come back if something looked dangerous ahead, and judging by its tense posture, whatever was up there had definitely caught its attention.

Reidar sent a quick mental signal, and all his creatures stopped moving at once. Everything went quiet around them.

He leaned forward on the gigantic wolf he was riding, one of the three beasts from his Primal Pack, and pressed his knee against its side. The wolf shifted to give him a better view. He gripped its rough fur tight as he tried to spot any danger up ahead.

A clearing opened up ahead, dominated by a single grotesque plant. It was a mass of red petals and thorny vines, a flower the size of a cottage. Dozens of thick tendrils, tipped with dripping barbs, whipped the surrounding air. Smaller, bud-like mouths lined its stem, snapping at unseen insects.

—Corrupted Bloom-Hydra—Level 86—

Reidar felt a chill crawl up his spine. Level eighty-six.

That thing will gulp me and my small army with no trouble.

Of course, his summons had grown stronger with his level ups, yet facing a creature at level eighty-six remained far beyond their reach. Monsters yielded greater C.L.A.S.P. points now, and with his gathered forces, Reidar could handle most threats along his route. Yet not something so monstrous. Still, he wondered how a creature had already reached that frightening level.

He ordered his creatures to steer clear of the monstrous plant. The map marked its location automatically, and the entire group gave the clearing a wide berth.

—[«STATUS»]—

Name: Reidar Miller

Level: 36

Health: 570

Mana: 1780

C.L.A.S.P.: 3625 / 11800

Available Attribute points: 0.00

Skills: Summon Rift-Sprite Squad, Fireball, Aqua Pistol, Stone Bullet, Wind Blade, Summon Primal Pack, Summon Guardian Shade, Summon Bone Militia, Mending Touch, Group Rally, Root Grasp, Circle of Renewal, Void Javelin, Elemental Storm

Equipment: Shepherd’s Crook of the Wild, Summoner’s Cowl, Summoner’s Mantle, Summoner’s Leggings, Summoner’s Handwraps, Summoner’s Treads, Summoner’s Bracers, Summoner’s Cloak, Summoner’s Sash, Aqua Sprite Pendant, Ember Sprite Ring, Stone Sprite Ring

Proficiencies: Basic Combat (65%), Velia’s Regional Map (10%), Velia’s Monster Compendium (18%)

Attributes: (S.H.I.E.L.D.: 5,7), (A.C.U.M.E.N.: 17,8), (F.L.A.I.R. : 5,5), (F.L.I.P.: 4,7)

Minions: Bone Militia (10 Skeletons), Primal Pack (3 Wolves), Rift-Sprites (One per type + an aqua Rift-Sprite), Guardian Shade

Survival Points: 36.279

Trait: Skill Sharing

Perks: Arcane Potency (6/6), Mana Attunement (5/5), Arcane Leech (5/5), Spell Control (5/5)

Perk Points: 0

Titles: The First Killer, The First Apprentice, The Pioneer, Creature Slayer IV, Rift-Sprite Hunter IV, The Exterminator, Guardian of the Innocents

—[«END»]—

Thanks to his Primal Pack, avoiding the clearing and that plant wasn’t too hard. The wolves moved fast. Besides, there were three of them, three wolves, used to working together like they’d been hunting for years, as only wolves could. He barely had to give them any orders. They were expert hunters, after all. They knew exactly what to do.

The rest of his summoned creatures followed at a slower, steadier pace. The skeletons marched with stiff, clattering steps while the rift-sprites drifted like colored mist among the trees.

The guardian shade floated silently behind them all. They caught up without him even thinking about it, falling into place around him like they were just another part of him.

The world seemed to shimmer at the edges as his mind reached out, pulling up the map he got from the vendor.

It shimmered into view, a glowing layer laid over the real world. Velia’s Regional Map, picked up from Keth’moran back in Three Lakes, had turned out to be way more useful than he’d expected.

Malcolm had given me tremendous help...

The red icon of the Bloom-Hydra still blinked, but Reidar’s focus was further east, toward a cluster of fainter markers he created based on the old map Malcolm gave him. The old dam.

The dam was on the way to Creamont, and Reidar knew there were towns around it; hence, he was going in that direction.

There had to be people around there, maybe even vendors. He really needed to restock his supplies.

Reidar was glad he’d met Keth’Moran, the Thalassari vendor. The guy looked strange at first, no doubt about it, but his calm, friendly, and yet alien way of doing business had won Reidar over in the end.

"What do you think?"

His mount nudged his hand with its head, a low growl rumbling in its chest.

"You think it’s worth a shot too, right??"

The forest thinned, giving way to the scarred concrete of the old access road leading to the dam.

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