Godfrey beckoned his knight to retreat, allowing Sam to recall his summon.
It hadn't been long since Godfrey awakened Mountain, and the toll was already evident.
The Black-Out State had forced Mountain from 3.0 to an unbelievable 4.0, but the cost was clear. Godfrey's face had gone pale, his body trembling. His breathing became slightly uneven, and his body felt weaker than usual.
It was natural. Most new summoners needed a week, sometimes even a month, before their bond strengthened enough to maintain a summon beyond a few minutes.
With time, they could maintain their companions for hours, even days. The most powerful summoners could keep their summons manifested all year, three hundred and sixty-five days without rest, repeating the feat without strain.
But the soul space was their natural cradle, a place where summons recovered and grew.
That was why they were always recalled after battle.
"Cherish the mercy I've shown you today," Godfrey said flatly as he walked past Sam.
The upperclassman stood frozen, disbelief etched across his face at the humiliation of his defeat.
"I was wondering when you'd leave Isolde's side."
A familiar, mocking voice made Godfrey halt his steps.
He turned.
His eyes narrowed seeing Siegfried and Maldred strolling side by side, approaching him. Snow followed silently behind them, phone in hand.
Without warning, Maldred extended his palm. Quills shot out of his palm, crossing the distance in a split second.
Godfrey barely had time to cross his arms in defense before they pierced into his forearms.
He tried to summon Mountain, but dizziness washed over him.
Before he could recover, Siegfried appeared before him in a blur of green. His hands had morphed into jade-like claws, large and gleaming under the sunlight.
They clamped over Godfrey's face.
In the next instant, Siegfried slammed his head into the wall. Stone cracked like glass, fractures spreading outward like spiderwebs before Godfrey collapsed limply to the ground.
"Oops. Used too much strength," Siegfried laughed, retracting his claws as if nothing had happened.
He crouched beside the unconscious boy, tilting his head with a smirk.
"I wonder what that Pendragon girl sees in you. Is she into weak boys?"
Maldred strolled past Sam, who still stood stiff and wide-eyed.
His gaze drifted toward Snow, the calm, silent figure whose mere presence dwarfed everyone else's.
Sam's throat tightened.
He was a third year. A 4.0 summoner. But Snow was already a 6.5.
Despite being a year below, Snow was untouchable. And beside him was Siegfried, rumored to be 4.6 with defenses rivaling the elite 5.0 tier; still, he was merely Snow's subordinate.
Watching them crush Godfrey so effortlessly stirred something ugly in Sam's chest.
His earlier humiliation began to fade, replaced by a twisted satisfaction.
'That's right.'
'He's nothing before true talents.'
Snow, silent as ever, cast a dismissive glance at the unconscious Godfrey. With one sharp kick, he shoved him against the wall like discarded trash, then walked past, scrolling on his phone.
When Godfrey's blue eyes finally fluttered open, he found the school nurse leaning over him.
"You're awake. I was starting to get worried," she said, relief softening her voice.
He groaned and pushed himself up to sit, his fingers touching the sore spot on his head.
"Don't worry. I've treated your wounds. After awakening your summon, your body has already grown tougher than before, so it wasn't life-threatening. But the shock knocked you unconscious."
Her tone was gentle, but Godfrey still caught the hint of pity buried in her voice. And that made his jaw tighten.
"Can you apologize to your classmates?" she asked carefully, trying to reason with him. "You're supposed to be friends. Why are you—"
"Apologize? To people who want me as their lapdog?!" Godfrey snapped, biting his lip and clenching his fists.
He inhaled a few slow, deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down, then lowered his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell."
Would lashing out at the nurse solve anything? No.
He already knew the answer. The others had years to train, to grow alongside their summons. Even the sophomores had at least one year of experience.
He hadn't even had a single day.
His blue eyes flickered with sharpness as he recalled what he knew.
Summons grew slowly within the soul space. Battles accelerated that growth, but the true catalyst was the dungeon core, something that could only be found in green gates.
Mountain was still low tier. But if Godfrey could push him to elite tier 4.0, then with Black-Out State, he could rival a 5.0. Mountain's unique weapons even gave him the ability to injure tougher foes, enemies up to 0.5 tiers higher than himself.
That meant one thing: if Mountain reached 4.0, Godfrey could have the power to threaten even a 5.5 summon.
__________
The next day, Mr. Edwin entered the classroom and dropped his book onto the desk before facing the students. His sharp eyes settled on the empty seat beside Isolde.
"Mr. Godfrey Daniels was severely injured yesterday," he announced. "He'll be taking a few weeks off to recover. However, he will return before the Ranking Competition at the end of this month."
"Remember, those who make it into the top three will have higher chances of graduating as Valedictorians, and their summons' potential will be boosted. Work hard."
The classroom immediately erupted in whispers.
"The coward ran after a simple head bump," Siegfried scoffed loudly while Maldred leaned over, whispering the story to another student, who snickered.
'So he's gone…' Isolde thought to herself, her golden-orange eyes glinting coldly as they swept toward Dale and Snow.
"With that humanoid summon, it was only a matter of time," sneered the girl Godfrey had defeated in combat class the day before. "Manhattan is a place for the great, not trash hiding behind his father's name."
"Trash mocking trash," Dale cut in with a scowl. "Your brother only picked a fight with him because you were beaten by a mere humanoid summon."
The girl's face turned pale, and she snapped her lips shut. She dared to mock Godfrey, but she wouldn't dare challenge Dale.
"Maybe it's because of Isolde," another whispered. "The top boys are furious she spends time with Godfrey instead of them."
The classroom buzzed louder until Mr. Edwin's voice cracked through the noise like a whip.
"I don't want to hear another word." He slammed his notes onto the lectern, his stern gaze sweeping across the room. "Today, we will discuss the two categories of summons: Chimera and Primal. These are the only two types of—"
__________
Several sessions later, Cecil stepped out of the female bathroom and was about to pass the staff's corridor when a voice made her freeze.
"King tier!" a male exclaimed.
"Yes, a King tier was detected yesterday," a woman replied, her tone unsteady. "At first, the Headmaster and I thought it was a mistake. But this morning, the authorities contacted us and confirmed it. Their gauges picked it up as well. But the strange part is, the student's summon doesn't resemble any known King-tier summon."
"Which student?"
"It's Godfrey Daniels. The sophomore transfer."
"…What?!"
The man's shocked outburst echoed Cecil's own thoughts. She covered her mouth with trembling hands.
'Godfrey… a King-tier summoner?! Impossible.'
Her heart raced. King-tiers were the stuff of nightmares and legends. One had once declared himself a god, and the world had barely stopped him.
How could that boy, the one who couldn't even defend himself, possess such a terrifying rank?
When she finally returned to the cafeteria, her eyes instinctively sought Siegfried, the one who had humiliated Godfrey.
'No… it can't be true.' She clenched her fists. 'A King-tier? That's absurd. That Godfrey awakened a stupid knight, and everyone saw it. These gossipers have lost their minds.'
Though she made herself believe that internally, that seemingly 'stupid knight' had defeated her classmate and her elder brother on the very day it was summoned, and that too by a boy who had no prior experience as a summoner!
Something was very wrong.