The moment I thought of the name of the Skill
At the exact spot where my right palm was pointing, a bizarre magic circle appeared with a bluish light that shone while a black cloud began to form.
"Cough... Cough... Do we really need this much smoke? I just wanted to—." I said, but stopped when I saw what I had summoned.
Having a
Amidst all that smoke, a dog-sized creature appeared. It wasn't a legendary creature like a baby dragon, but a low-level skeleton with bones as small as those of a child no older than four or five.
A drop of sweat trickled down my forehead. "Is this really happening...?"
Unable to believe that my summon was just that, I began circling around it as I analyzed it.
This skeleton held a small sword, which looked more like a knife, and had nothing remarkable besides its ridiculously small size.
I mean, I was in the universe of Journey to the Beyond! Come on! There were magical monsters here that were true walking calamities, and I had a legendary class! Shouldn't that grant me a great summon?
The little skeleton didn't move as I analyzed it. Nothing. It didn't move, not even an inch.
I took a deep breath, trying to think of a solution to this situation.
"Come to think of it, maybe it's temporary... The system wouldn't give me a useless summon forever. Surely, this thing must evolve. Well, then I need to evolve it. Where can I find monsters here?"
Suddenly, the small skeleton, which had been completely motionless, shifted slightly. As if sensing the air, even though it had no nose, it began to sniff the environment. Then, without any command from me, it turned and began to walk.
"Ah... okay... I think it smelled something."
Even though I was very cautious because of where I was, I followed it.
The lighting in this macabre version of the Lovikalen Public Library was not the best, with only flickering chandeliers in a few spots, but the little skeleton began to follow a specific path that seemed to scream for any sensible person to turn back.
In addition to the darkness, thick cobwebs partially covered several shelves. These things weren't just sticky; they clung to me persistently until I forced myself to pull them off.
That's when the little skeleton stopped abruptly. It turned toward me, raising its bony right arm and pointing into the absolute darkness that stretched out before us.
That simple gesture sent a chill down my spine. I could feel a bead of sweat trickling down my forehead, but I forced a smile and crossed my arms as I stared into the darkness ahead.
"So, that's where they are, huh?"
The skeleton didn't answer—not that I expected it to. It just kept pointing, motionless, as if waiting for me to make my decision.
If there was a creature there, it meant one thing: this was my first real chance to test my summoning. Not that I'd use this skeleton as bait. Of course not.
"Okay... since you're so sure you have an enemy there, why don't you go and deal with it yourself?" I asked, smiling smugly like a villain would.
'If he goes there and survives, I'll know that the monster he found isn't stronger than me. After all, this skeleton and I have the same amount of attribute points. If he dies, I'll run away as fast as I can.'
After my command, the little skeleton lowered his arm and suddenly started running toward the darkness.
My eyes widened. 'He didn't even hesitate...?'
And it wasn't just the total absence of fear that surprised me. The way he moved before made me think he was just a bunch of clumsy walking bones, but now he darted forward like an arrow shot from a bow—so fast.
In a matter of moments, he was swallowed by the darkness and disappeared from my field of vision.
My heart was beating faster. I was curious, but at the same time, a little apprehensive.
What exactly had he sensed in there?
Then a metallic noise echoed in my ears, as if blades were clashing.
The noise repeated at a regular rhythm a few more times, followed by a drier sound, as if something fleshy was being torn apart.
My mouth opened slightly. I wanted to see what was happening, but my vision still couldn't penetrate the absolute darkness. All I could do was listen.
The last sound was a shrill hiss, something that vaguely resembled the sound of a tire deflating. Finally, silence prevailed.
I was about to retreat when a notification appeared.
[Your summon has eliminated 'Dark Spider (Rank F)'!]
[You have received +10 Soul Fragments!]
I blinked, confused. And then a smile slowly formed on my face when another notification appeared.
[The first kill of a summon activated the Hidden Ability "Ability Absorption."]
[Your summon absorbed the Dark Spider's "Absolute Antivenom" ability.]
+
[Skill Details!]
[Skill Name: Absolute Antivenom.
Description: The Dark Spider is a creature made of darkness and steel, giving it the unique ability of absolute immunity to poisons of any origin.
Type: Effect.
Cooldown: None.]
+
[Legendary Summoner Class Exclusive Skill activated!]
[You have obtained the Legendary Skill "Trait Swap."]
[You can now steal skills from your own summons.]
I was smiling from ear to ear with this series of notifications. I had expected my first summon to be a complete failure, but now it seemed like there was a lot of potential here.
Copy abilities they absorbed from creatures they killed? How absurdly overpowered was a power like that?
"Not bad... Not bad at all..."
A big smile was still plastered on my face when a sound tore through the darkness behind me.
The feeling of danger hit me like a shockwave, sending a chill down my spine. Before I could turn around completely, something jumped at me.
With a desperate impulse, I threw my body backward to dodge it. The black figure that had attacked me crashed several meters down the hallway, hitting the floor with a loud thud.
Gasping for air, I rolled onto my back and got up in a flash. My breath caught in my throat when I looked at my left arm and saw a deep cut. In addition, there was a violet liquid oozing from the cut — poison, of course.
The burning sensation from the wound spread too quickly, like corrosive fire coursing through my veins.
That's when the environment around me began to change. I couldn't tell if it was an effect of the poison or not, but silhouettes began to appear on the ceiling and walls, overlapping with wooden shelves. The sound of multiple legs surrounded me in the almost complete darkness. The eyes of dozens of spiders around me appeared at the same time. They were all blood red.
"Tsk... This is getting fun real quick," I said, mocking the situation, my earlier smile replaced by a grimace.
My hands trembled as I clenched my fists and raised them. Without weapons, my fists were my only chance to fight back.
Now that my eyes were more accustomed to the darkness, the spider I had thrown rose with difficulty.
At that moment, something cut through the air. But it wasn't the spider, it was the skeleton again with its short blade wrapped in a silvery glow. The knife dug into the joint between its thorax and abdomen. The sound of flesh being torn was music to my ears.
[Your summon has eliminated 'Dark Spider (Rank F)'!]
[You have received +10 Soul Fragments!]
I was about to look up to focus my attention on the other spiders, but instinct held me back. After the skeleton pulled the knife out of the spider that had attacked me, it spun the blade and hurled the weapon straight at me.
My hands acted before my mind, catching the handle at the last moment.
I looked at the small skeleton and smiled. "You're not so bad..." I said and looked up at the spiders above me.
If the little skeleton had thrown that knife at me, it meant that those spiders weren't an illusion created by the poison. They were real. When they saw the blade in my hand, they descended en masse, screeching in fury and opening their chelicerae.
My knife sliced the first one that came, severing one of its legs and causing it to fall sideways with a high-pitched squeal. The second one tried to grab me, but I twisted my body and drove the blade right into the middle of its bizarre head. A third one lunged at my leg, and I kicked it hard, smashing it against the wall with a sickening crunch.
[You have eliminated 'Dark Spider (Rank F)'!]
[You have eliminated 'Dark Spider (Rank F)'!]
[You have eliminated 'Dark Spider (Rank F)'!]
[You have received +30 Soul Fragments!]
They were only Rank-F monsters, so they were both slow and fragile. I could handle them even without magic or attack skills, but the pain in my scratched arm intensified with every passing second. It was as if something was burning under my skin, spreading an unrelenting that made me tremble and miss my next strike.
I couldn't go on like this. Not with this poison spreading. If I didn't die from these weak spiders, I would definitely die from the poison.
That's when I remembered the skill called "Trait Swap."
My eyes lit up at the thought. So, I looked at my little skeleton and wished to activate the skill.
[Ability Trait Swap has found a target.]
[Which trait do you want to copy from your target?]
[Available Iron Rank Summoning Abilities: Blade Proficiency lv2, Impulse lv1, Absolute Antivenom lvMAX.]
"You already know which one I want, system!"
[Ability 'Absolute Antivenom' acquired.]
[You are poisoned.]
[All effects and symptoms of poisoning on Player 2 have been blocked due to a skill.]
The burning sensation on the cut vanished instantly, as if it had never existed. My lips curled into a smile. Now, it was a fair fight against the remaining Shadow Spiders.