Max and the girls had been spending more time together over the past week. Life at camp had been… eventful, to say the least. Between training, interacting with other demigods, and quietly observing how things played out, the days had passed faster than expected.
Hana and Luna, however, had gotten a little too comfortable around Max.
Not that he was complaining.
It was late in the day now, the sky painted in warm shades of orange and gold as the sun began to set. The three of them were sitting near the border of the camp, close enough to feel the faint hum of the magical barrier that protected the area.
Luna stretched slightly, leaning back on her hands as she looked toward the forest.
"So, tonight's the night we finally see the hero of this universe," she said. "Anything we can do this early?"
Hana was sitting beside her, casually snacking on something she had grabbed earlier, only half-paying attention to the conversation.
"Not really," Max said, lying back in the grass with his hands behind his head. "Not until those three start traveling. I just need to figure out how we're going to join them."
"Oh, right!" Hana perked up. "The Rule of Three. Any more than that, and monsters can sense and track you way easier."
"Exactly," Max said with a small nod. "And I don't really have anything from my gacha that helps with that."
Hana paused mid-snack, then looked at him.
"What about that summoning card? Could she help?"
Luna's eyes immediately shifted toward Max, clearly interested.
Max reached into his inventory and pulled out the card. It shimmered faintly with power, the image on it clear and detailed.
Suzu.
From that level 9999 gacha anime he had watched before everything went wrong. Though this version was slightly different—completely female in design and presence.
He had pulled her with the last few seconds of boosted luck.
Max frowned slightly, staring at the card.
"I'm not sure," he admitted. "I don't know what to expect."
He did know her, at least somewhat. He had read the manga. He knew how absurdly powerful she could be—her ability to manipulate status bullets alone made her capable of handling almost anything with ease.
That was exactly the problem.
She was powerful.
Too powerful.
And summons like that… weren't always easy to control.
"I don't mind," Luna said with a small smile. "You're not going to win over the other girls here for at least a year or two anyway. If she ends up getting attached to you like we did, that just makes things more interesting."
She tilted her head slightly, thinking.
"And I remember finishing that anime about a week before we died. She's… definitely a character."
Max let out a quiet breath.
"Fine," he said. "I'll summon her. But only during the commotion with Percy. I'll need the distraction."
He sat up slightly, already thinking ahead.
"I'll use the nightshade powder to cover it."
"Deal!" Hana said immediately, her eyes lighting up. "We'll watch Percy, and you summon her. Then we can all have fun with her."
Both girls looked way too excited about that.
Max couldn't help but smile a little.
Soon enough, the moment arrived.
They could hear it before they saw anything—the distant sound of a car crash, followed by chaos, shouting, and something large moving through the forest.
Max turned his head slightly, his senses sharpening.
Percy.
The Minotaur wasn't far behind.
Max really wanted to go watch. To see it firsthand.
But a plan was a plan.
And he stuck to it.
Then came the roar.
It echoed across the entire camp, deep and powerful, instantly putting every demigod on edge. Within seconds, campers began rushing into position, preparing to defend the camp.
"They've got a magical barrier that can't be breached," Max muttered to himself as he moved toward the lake. "So this is probably just… training for them. Still."
He reached into his inventory and pulled out the nightshade powder.
Crushing it in his hand, he tossed it into the air.
The effect was immediate.
A thick, unnatural black smoke spread across the area, swallowing the surroundings and cutting off visibility completely. Even sound seemed slightly dampened within it.
Perfect cover.
Max raised the summoning card.
"Release… Level 7777 Suzu."
The ground beneath him lit up as a massive magic circle formed, glowing with intricate patterns and symbols far beyond normal summoning rituals.
And then—
Everything glitched.
Time itself seemed to stutter, freezing, reversing, and snapping forward again in short bursts. The magic circle flickered, its energy unstable as reality struggled to process what was happening.
It repeated several times, like something was trying—and failing—to fully manifest.
Then, finally, Max's system appeared in front of him.
[Suzu successfully integrated and sealed.]
[Successful backstory created: Former Hunter of Artemis who lost favor after falling madly in love with user.]
Max blinked.
"…Well. That's convenient," he muttered.
The magic circle faded.
From the center of it, Suzu stepped forward.
She moved gracefully, her presence calm but undeniably powerful. In her hand was her weapon—Lock, her magical gun.
She approached Max, stopping just in front of him.
"Suzu and Lock, reporting in," the gun said in a clear, mechanical with an accent.
Suzu gave a small bow, her cheeks lightly flushed as she looked at Max.
The nightshade smoke began to fade around them, slowly revealing the world again.
And just like that—
Things had gotten a lot more complicated.