Chapter 7. The First Summon
As Logan reached Tsukuru's room, he stopped for a second, as he took in the room. He always got like this when he went to Tsukuru's room. It felt as if he was stepping into a previous era, as the only "modern" thing inside was Tsukuru's bed. Looking over, he saw Tsukuru knelt on the floor, pulling a book out from the bottom shelf of the bookcase whose top was littered with Tsukuru's anime figurines.
"There it is!" Tsukuru announced, pulling a rather thick, black book out. As Logan looked at it, he realized it wasn't a book at all. It was a large, three-ring binder whose casing was made of foam with a sheet of wood underneath the foam to make it stiff. The edges of the book were completely lined by a black zipper, sealing it shut. The book's cover showed five circular outlines with a symbol inside, matching the color of the circular outline. The five circles were arranged with one at the top, two far apart, and a second set closer together. Lines extended from each circle, connecting them to each other, forming a five-pointed star between them.
Going clockwise, the fives circles were a white circle with an ornate, jagged sun design, a blue circle with a droplet design, a dark-purple circle with a skull design, a red circle with a curving flame, as if a fireball was going around a corner, and the final circle was green with a tree design. Tsukuru undid the zipper all the way to the top, causing the binder to flop open. When it did, Logan saw that the binder didn't have "pages" at all. Rather, it was full of sheets of clear plastic that each had nine cards arranged in three rows of three, each "page" holding nine cards on each side.
As Logan watched Tsukuru flip through page after page, he noticed that the cards had varying borders, going from tan, to dark brown, to blue, to dark blue, to purple, to dark purple, to white, to black, until finally, blue with hexagon designs. Each card was separated into three sections, a narrow rectangle with a name and including a circle at the far end at the top, a large square showing an image in the middle, and finally, a moderately-sized rectangle filled with text at the bottom. After five minutes of flipping, Tsukuru stopped.
"That's it!" Tsukuru said excitedly, as he reached in and pulled a card out from the middle spot on the page, holding it in his hand. Curious, Logan walked over to behind Tsukuru, and looked at the card in his hand. It was one of the blue-with-hexagon-design cards. Its image showed a knight in a purple-and-red suit of armor wearing a black cape that was purple around the edges, holding an ax behind its head in mid-swing. The knight had blue flames coming out of the empty spaces between the armor pieces, including the helmet's eyeholes. Logan looked down at it, and read the name.
"'Phantom Knight'..." He muttered. Tsukuru looked back at Logan.
"Yeah, this'll make a PERFECT footsoldier!" He announced. As he looked back at it, a System screen appeared in his vision.
[Would you like to use this image as a template for your first Video Summon Race?
[Yes] [No] ]
Tsukuru thought the word 'Yes'. Instantly, a cone of light-blue light shot out of his eyes, similar to the one the chip had shot out when it had scanned him. In his vision, he saw a large square that slowly began filling from the top with the image, like a printer. As it did, the image in the card appeared as a light-blue, 3-D wireframe. When it was finished, the figure rotated a few times in the square. The System's voice rang in his head.
[Scan complete. The System will now use the host's memories and subconscious in conjunction with the scanned image to create the first Video Summon Race. Please give this race a Name.]
As a rectangle with sixteen dashes, the first one blinking, appeared before Tsukuru, he smirked. "Haunted Knight" He replied, watching as the bar filled itself, displaying the words "Haunted Knights", before the System's "confirmation" sound was heard, and a new System screen appeared.
[Registration Complete. The Summon RaceHaunted Knights has been added to your Video SummonArsenal.]
The screens then vanished. Back in his "Summons" Screen, the blank rounded square became replaced by the image of an iron knight helm with a dark-purple plume made of ribbons simulating a ponytail behind it, with select parts of the helm rusted over and the helm's horizontal eye-slit glowing light-blue. Underneath, it had a rectangular bar reading the words "Haunted Knight". Tsukuru smirked, and tapped the square. It lit up, and a System screen appeared.
[Would you like to create a Haunted Knight? Costs 1 Summon Point.
Summon Points: 1
[Yes] [No] ]
Tsukuru looked back at Logan, "Alright, I'm all set to create my first Summon." He replied. Logan waved his hand at him in a notion telling him to "go on". Tsukuru pressed "yes". Instantly, Tsukuru's vision faded to black. Then, in the darkness, something appeared. A complex magic circle appeared on the "ground" in the blackness, glowing light-blue with the magic circle having five circles within it, forming a star within the magic circle. Each circle had a complex symbol in it. Above the magic circle, a glowing, translucent, light-blue sword that looked like it came straight out of a fantasy novel hovered above, pointing downwards.
Instantly, the sword split apart into five. The five swords began to spin around the magic circle like a spinning wheel, before each sword slammed downwards into one of the five smaller circles. The swords shattered on impact, breaking apart into pixels, and causing the smaller circles to light up. Slowly, the light began to spread out from them, causing every line of the complex magic circle to light up. When the circle was fully illuminated, a light hum was heard, like a machine whirling to life. Light-blue pixels began to appear, floating above the surface of the circle.
Like when Tsukuru used his Video Creation Skill earlier, the pixels began to cluster together and take shape. However, unlike his Skill, the pixels built onto each other, building up from the bottom and going upwards, like a 3-D printer. As they built on top of each other, a figure wearing a suit of slender, feminine platemail armor appeared. As the pixels reached the very top of her head, the flash of blue light appeared, temporarily obscuring Tsukuru's vision. When it faded, the figure came into view. The figure was clearly female, as her chestpiece was rounded in the front to accommodate her "assets", and the greaves of the knight armor had long, stiletto heels.
The armor looked old, and was rusted over in certain places. A long, dark-purple plume made out of a cluster of ribbons came out of the back of the helmet, simulating a ponytail. The figure had light-blue, ghostly wisps coming out of every opening in the armor, such as where the individual pieces separated. The horizontal slit on her helmet that served as the eye visor was also glowing light-blue. She stood in the same "knight sentry" pose as the "Summon" tab's icon on the System interface, with her sword in front of her, almost piercing the magic circle. However, as Tsukuru looked at her, he noticed that something was…off.
Rather than looking like a real person covered in knight armor, the Haunted Knight had a certain…"uncanny valley" look to her. She looked like a 3-D model render of an anime character, the type Tsukuru had seen in anime-style video games with high graphics, rather than a person who actually existed. To be perfectly honest, to Tsukuru, it looked as if she had walked straight out of an anime-style video game. The figure grabbed the sword's handle with her left hand and swung into the air, forming a pose of victory.
A voice rang through Tsukuru's head. Although, strangely enough, it wasn't the feminine, computerized voice of the System's AI. It was a gravely, masculine voice that reminded Tsukuru of the "announcer" from old fighting games. "You have created a Haunted Knight!" The voice announced. The strange room faded from view, and Tsukuru's vision returned to him standing in his room with Logan behind him. Tsukuru stood there for a second, before he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking back, he saw Logan staring at him.
"Well, did it work?" Logan asked. "You spaced out there for a second." As if to answer his question, a new System screen appeared in front of them. As Logan was touching Tsukuru, he could see the System Screen as well.
[You have successfully created a Pawn Grade Haunted Knight. 1 Pawn Grade Haunted Knight has been added to your Video Summon Arsenal.]
Tsukuru and Logan exchanged glances. Without a word, Tsukuru held out his hand, and imagined summoning the newly-created Haunted Knight. Another System screen appeared in front of him.
[Skill Video Summon has been activated.]
The familiar sound of electronic interference typical of Tsukuru's Video Creation Skill filled the room, and translucent, light-blue pixels began to appear in front of him. The pixels clustered together into a slender, humanoid shape. There was a bright flash of light that temporarily obscured the space directly in front of Tsukuru, blinding the two. When the bright light faded, there was another figure in front of them. Standing roughly 169 centimeters, or around five feet and six inches, the individual wore a full set of slender, iron knight armor. The armor looked old and worn from age, having rust in various places. The figure in the armor was clearly female, with the armor modeled to her figure, the breastplate being rounded in the front to accommodate her "assets", and the greaves having stiletto heels.
A red plume came out of the top of the helmet, mimicking a ponytail. The figure had light, ghostly-blue wisps coming out of the spaces between the individual pieces of armor, with the horizontal visor on the helmet glowing bright light-blue. The knight stood in that same "knight sentry" pose. In front of Tsukuru, a new System screen appeared.
[You have summoned a Pawn Grade Haunted Knight. Congratulations, you have completed your first Summoning Ritual. Rewards will now be awarded, You have received the following rewards:
Basic-Tier Knight Sword
Basic-Tier Knight Gauntlets
1 Pawn Point
Basic-Tier Knight Sword and Basic-Tier Knight Gauntlets have been placed in your Weapons Tab.
Your Pawn Grade Haunted Knight has received 1 Pawn Point. Pawn Points: 1/5]
Logan looked at the Haunted Knight, then down at the "Phantom Knight" card that was still in Tsukuru's hand. Logan quirked an eyebrow.
"I see you took some…creative liberties." Logan muttered, staring at the knight's bulging chestplate to make his point known. Tsukuru responded by giving him a sideways glare and hardly shoving his elbow into Logan's bicep. Logan let out a slight grunt of pain, and began rubbing his now aching bicep.
"I didn't design it." Tsukuru muttered, defending himself from Logan's accusation. "The System's AI did. It says it used my 'memories and my subconscious' to create it." Logan glanced to the side.
"Right…" He muttered. "I shouldn't be surprised with how many times I've walked in on you watching…those types of scenes in your…'shows'." Instantly, Tsukuru whirled around to him.
"WHEN?" He yelled. "When have you ever been in my room? You're always holed up in your room like it's a damn doomsday bunker!" Logan shot Tsukuru with a deadpan look.
"...You sure you want to play THAT card?" He said in a monotone voice. "Isn't that essentially 'the pot calling the kettle 'black'?" Their argument was halted in its tracks when they both heard a creaking noise from in front of them. As the two turned back around, they saw the Haunted Knight bow before Tsukuru. She bowed on one knee with her other knee bent and her left forearm resting on her left knee with her right hand around her sword's handle, in an iconic knight bowing pose. As Tsukuru looked at her, the System's vector appeared on top of her head in his vision.
Like always, a line extended out from the left of the vector before going up to a square that displayed a close-up of her head. Under the square, information was written out.
[Name: Haunted Knight
Rank: Pawn Grade
Pawn Points: 1/5]
"Fascinating." Logan muttered, as he stared at the Haunted Knight, now kneeling before Tsukuru. He walked up to her, and began rubbing his hand against her shoulder. It felt cold to the touch, like a suit of armor that had just come out of cold storage. He also felt something gritty and grainy under his touch, like dust or sand. "Remarkable." He noted. "It feels just like a real suit of armor." There was an audible creak as the Haunted Knight turned her head to look at Logan, the glowing, light-blue eye-slit seeming to stare directly at him. The two shared an awkward
silence, before Logan stepped back, a cold chill going down his spine.
As he stood next to Tsukuru, he felt something on his hand. Looking down, he saw that his hand was covered in rust, having rubbed off on his hand when he had touched the Haunted Knight. His eyes widened in shock. Without a word, he walked into the bathroom adjacent to Tsukuru's room to wash the rust off his hand. No sooner than he had started wiping his hand dry, there was an aggressive knock at the door. Both Tsukuru and Logan instinctively twisted their necks towards the source of the noise: The mansion's front door. Hearing it, Tsukuru's eyes widened. He brought his wrist up to his chest and looked at his watch. "Shit!" he muttered, looking down at it. In the upper-right corner of the screen, the digital clock read "8:00". The military carrier had arrived.