"I made it just in time."
Dean bent slightly, catching his breath.
A two storey building stood ahead. It was old and crooked but still standing.
It was your typical post apocalyptic chic.
After straightening up, he entered the building…which was the location for the summoning ceremony for individuals like him.
Individuals that haven't gotten their last summons or any summons at all.
He climbed the stairs and arrived at the second floor.
The floor was an open air space, the roof was ripped off and the area was filled with excited teenagers and some older individuals.
The crowd circled around a hanging platform at the far end of the room, where someone must have been showing off.
Moving closer. Dean was able to see what they were so drawn to.
'That's it?' he thought.
The centre of attraction was some kid with blonde hair and sharp blue eyes.
He walked down the stairs with a smug smile on his face.
But Dean didn't get what was so impressive about it. The boy looked average at best.
"Pfft," he remarked as he began to look around the area.
"Von Vermith Astrea," A dry and coarse voice called from a podium on the side of the platform.
"Wait… Vermith?" The bald announcer retorted with a puzzled expression.
Rechecking the list as If he had made a fatal mistake.
Dean glanced around to see who this Astrea was. Just then, the boy beside him spoke with weak eyes.
"She's so beautiful.."
Dean followed his gaze and saw a girl that seemingly appeared on the platform out of nowhere.
She didn't dally and placed her pale white hand on the transparent pillar, causing it to glow red like the colour of her eyes.
'Vampire.' Dean thought.
Merely a moment later, the pillar began to crack from different sides and then a burst of red energy spiralled up from the cracks.
The energy combined to form a massive knight-like monster.
The phantom knight hovered over the vampire and wielded a double bladed sword.
Its menacing red eyes gleamed from its visor as it roared causing the entire building to buckle before it disappeared in motes of red light as quickly as it appeared.
"Damn…That's a Vermith for you," a voice came from behind.
"Vampire Royalty for a reason," another voice praised.
The kid beside him almost got a seizure from her summoning and he could swear, the boy was drooling.
'Get yourself together.' Dean shook his head.
"Sovereign Class," the bald instructor read out with a cracked voice, staring at a device that looked like a glowing crystal compass.
"Sovereign Class?" Dean repeated as his eyes widened.
'Isn't that the rarest after Calamity and Mythic?' Dean thought…
"I'm so jealous..," a female voice cut through his thoughts.
"Don't be… Those are for people like them, not us," a male voice said defeated.
"She's amazing!!!" Other voices grew from whispers to open adoration as Astrea stepped down without sparing anyone a look.
'Alright, Alright, we get it,' Dean rolled his eyes.
He knew from the memories he inherited that having a good summoning ceremony and a decent familiar was the same as having a free pass to the good life in this world.
Even as people stared at Astrea like their lives had just upgraded in her presence.
Dean exhaled.
Three days ago, he had a life too.
A manageable life.
And all he wanted was a beer.
Just one. To watch the super bowl when he slipped off his dog's pee. Hit his head on a counter and boom.. another life!
He shook his head solemnly. Every time he thought about it, it sounded as absurd as it was annoying.
It was the kind of death that even the final destination producers would've rejected.
But that was in the past now. Dean tried his best to focus his mind on what was ahead of him.
Which was to at least get something good and leave a comfortable life in this new world.
***
After the vampire left, several other people carried out their own summoning attempts.
The long line of participants shortened, but amongst them, only about two or three summoned familiars above Epic class.
Which was understandable. After all, Epic was good.
It was Common class. The very level where the first two familiars of the original landed, that was the problem.
That alone meant he was very much useless. With a capital "U."
But even at that, it still didn't make sense why the original would try to force a third summoning alone, and killed himself in the process.
It was a stupid act, but Dean couldn't complain. The boy's loss was his gain after all.
"Gray…"
"Dean…Gray,"
"Thats me," his eyes snapped up even as his heart began pounding for no reason.
"Get up here!" the bald man who had regained his composure ordered.
Approaching the platform, Dean finally got a good look at the man.
'Cruff.'
'Of course that was him.'
Dean's memories bled out, even as his jaw tightened.
This man was a teacher in his middle school and was probably hired to do this event.
Passing through the crowd that naturally opened up, as he approached.
"Gray?"
"Which Gray?"
Dean heard the whispers as he climbed up the stairs while eyes followed him as if he was a celebrity.
"Place your hand on the pillar and open your mind to the flow of verge,"
Mr Cruff spoke more softly now. He'd been very soft since the vampire royal left.
Almost like he wasn't going to get paid if Dean or any other student somehow messes this up.
"Alright.." Dean responded.
Closing his eyes. He tapped into a familiar feeling that went from his chest to his mind.
'Open up to the verge,' he quietly chorused in his mind but after thirty seconds…
Nothing happened.
Dean opened his eyes again, his left hand still on the pillar, but nothing else was happening.
'Yeah, you're indeed broken goods,' he cursed inwardly while looking at his body.
Silence followed and after a minute of standing there like a statue and just begging for something to happen.
Dean exhaled and slowly resigned to his fate. He didn't die like the original but the disappointment was just as bad.
Even now, the murmuring had begun behind him.
"It seems I don't have a third familiar," Dean spoke flatly, while his hand squeezed hard on the cracked pillar.
Mr Cruff looked at him and simply nodded. A sign that it was over.
His chance at a good life had just slipped away.
'Fuck,' Dean thought. As he tried to remove his hand from the pillar.
Unfortunately for him. His hand was stuck in the crack. He pulled but instead of freedom, he felt his body jerk and locked in place.
"What the?" He grimaced, but before he fell further into confusion, the air crackled like lightning had tip-toed into the room.
A surge of energy emerged out of nowhere, causing a shockwave that pushed his medium-length hair aside, spreading to cover the whole building.
The cracks on the pillar glowed and suddenly sucked back the energy.
This caused a rainbow-like beam that shot upwards before spreading out like rain.
Dean's eyes followed the trail of light as something emerged from behind it, descending slowly.
"What is that?" a voice asked from the back.
Dean himself had no answer. And just watched as a slime-like familiar landed on the top of the pillar beside his hand.
He stared blankly at the slime.
It wobbled.
Dean waited for it to roar. Or transform. Or at least look threatening.
It just wobbled again.
'Great,' he thought.
"I got jelly."
Someone laughed...
A/N: If you're enjoying the story. Add to Library and please support.