Summoner: The Book of Dimension

76 Consequence Of Greed

Well, it wasn’t bad. Peter thought it would be poisoned or something, but it worked just as he wanted it to work. “Can you give her a stronger magic spell? To test the energy’s limit and to know how long it will last?” he turned to the skull head in the hands of Ray.

Now, the skull had a green light in the eye sockets. Peter’s forehead creased in confusion. “Wait, is that supposed to be normal?” he asked the skull head.

“Yeah. My eye color changes based on my mood. If it’s yellow, it means I feel disturbed. If you saw it earlier, it must be because of you suddenly summoning me from my sleep. I’ve been sleeping for a few years now to rest temporarily. If my eyes are green, it means I am comfortable,” he said. Peter thought about making a that he must be comfortable in Ray’s hands, but he was sure the skull head might not like it and would decide not to help them.

“Anyway, that doesn’t matter. Pardon me for my random blabber. I have a spell for you to try, young lady,” the skull head added, referring to Linda. “Do the same thing earlier and repeat after me,” he instructed. “Form in the wind of colors, the water could no longer see. Under the moonlight, I call you!”

Linda cleared her throat, and with her hands, she faced her palms under the ply of tissue which had just settled finally on the floor, few feet from her. “Form in the wind of colors, the water could no longer see. Under the moonlight, I call you!”

Just at that, a wind surrounded the ply of tissue, and it slowly deformed into pieces, into a ball of something until it slowly formed into what looked like a ball of snow. Another smaller ball grew on top of the first, and they were sure it was a snowman. However, just as it was starting to form the last ball on top, it crumbled.

Peter was confused and surprised. “Wait, what happened?” Half of his frustration was for the excitement he felt for the snowman to form.

“Well, there you go. It’s a middle-level magic spell for experts. Normally, sorcerers with much experience in magic will be able to achieve this kind of magic,” the skull head started. “The energy runs out; that’s why she couldn’t continue to finish the magic.”

“So, the energy runs out?” Peter asked.

The skull head nodded. “Supposedly. And she only took a bite. Maybe, if you consumed a little more, you’ll have enough energy like those expert sorcerers. A quick cheat.” The skull head continued, “I’m not sure about the side effect, though. Quick cheats mostly worked with side effects, so I don’t know what the piece of apple would do to her.”

Peter looked at Linda. “Let me know if you feel something weird in the next few minutes or hours,” he said to her, and she just nodded before going back to the others. He murmured to himself, “If we’re going to last for more hours,” he chuckled.

“Why are you chuckling to yourself?” Ray asked as he found him quite odd.

Peter shook his head. “I just thought some stupid thought,” he said and shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. We have to try everything we can.”

He let Zack hold the apple and saved it for later. They were at least reassured by the energy it gave, although it would only last for a few minutes.

Standing in the circle, Peter continued summoning. “I’m gonna summon another,” he said.

An object from the Atlanchi World;

I shall consume you and take your energy.

In my name, Peter Cohen, I summon you into this world!

The same whirl of wind and portal came, just as he expected. He wasn’t sure if an apple would appear or another food will appear, but he had high hopes that it would be better than the apple. Something that will last for a long time. He needed something that could last for an hour, at most.

There, a sausage appeared above a paper plate, stuck on a stick. Like the apple earlier, it looked no different from those sausages they sold in convenience stores or on some moving vehicle that sold hot dogs and stuff. It didn’t look bad, and it was even steaming a little, which seemed to be promising that it was just cooked. Peter reached and took the sausage to examine it.

He smelled it, and it smelled like a normal sausage. He held the stick and lifted it. If Linda was fine with the apple, he should be, too. He brought it near his mouth, but to his surprise, someone appeared beside him. The least person everyone expected to meddle with Peter’s plans.

Kevin Marr, the guy who helped them with tying up the bodies of the possessed local people. Peter looked at him with confusion on his face. “Do you need anything?” he asked the random guy.

He didn’t share many conversations with Kevin, as far as he could remember. He was just behind the other attendees, quietly waiting for everything to end. He wasn’t even sure if he shared any conversation with others, as he seemed to be a quiet and silent guy. If Peter could recall, he didn’t talk much anyway. Almost like he hadn’t said anything to anyone.

His suddenly appearing by Peter’s side was just strange and weird. It wasn’t a surprise, and Josh befriended Kevin. Josh wouldn’t choose whoever he wanted to communicate or befriend with. He was attracted to befriending weird and quiet people because his late friend must’ve had had enough of him and his other two friends.

But it was not the time for him to wonder about Josh’s decisions about making friends with absolutely anyone. That clumsy guy, he thought. Maybe his clumsiness to befriend anyone was one of the reasons why he died. He easily trusts people.

“I’ll eat that,” Kevin Marr casually said. “Linda took it, and she was just as fine. I should be, too,” he said. “I offer to test the sausage myself.” That was probably the longest sentence anyone in the lobby had heard from him. His voice told him he was young, probably a little younger than Josh.

Peter placed the hot dog on the paper plate. “Are you sure you will be able to handle it? I’m eating it because if it fails to do anything or made me sick, then that’s on me. If you really want to consume this and something happens to you, that’s on you because you insist,” he said.

Kevin was silent for a few seconds, but he just snatched the sausage from him. “Hey!” Peter exclaimed and about to get it back, but Kevin pushed him. He stood up from his fall and looked at everyone, “You guys saw that, he took it on his own. If something happens to him, I’m afraid I could do anything to him,” he said. That scared him, actually. What if the sausage was poisoned or something, and Kevin didn’t take it? Then he would’ve died.

Kevin Marr almost inhaled the sausage in less than a minute. Less than ten seconds, even. He looked at Peter as his mouth was stuffed with the sausage, continuously chewing on it. It tasted and felt like eating a normal sausage, so he continued to chew until he gulped everything else. When he completely consumed the sausage, he showed his empty tongue to everyone and even threw the stick aside.

Peter threw the paper plate on a side as well and watched what could happen. “Okay, let’s do the magic,” he said, looking at the skull head with greed.

The skull head sighed. “Sure, sure. Let’s continue the one Linda failed to do. Repeat after me,” he started. “Form in the wind of colors, the water could no longer see. Under the moonlight, I call you!”

Remembering what Linda had done, he placed his palm under the pile of pieces of ply tissue from earlier. “Form in the wind of colors, the water could no longer—“ he paused and held on his abdomen. “Ow, that hurts!” he complained and knelt, still holding on his abdomen and looking at Peter. “What is this?”

Peter checked his state, and he noticed how his pulse had spiked. “Something’s happening to you!” he exclaimed. “Skull head, what should I do?” he asked.

The skull head immediately answered. “I’m afraid I can do anything to that, as summoning was not my expertise.”

Peter tried to summon, but no matter how he tried, he couldn’t. His spiritual power was a little disrupted because of pressure.

Kevin screamed as bumps started to appear on his skin like it was boiling. His eyes were turning brown, and he was now having seizures on the floor. Everyone was shocked and afraid to see what was happening.

Everyone watched as his skin turned golden brown, his legs and arms turning swollen as well as his face. No scream nor sound escaped Kevin’s mouth. His body was aggressively shaking, and it stopped only to reveal what happened to him.

Everybody gasped in horror. Kevin Marr turned into a sausage. Although it sounded funny, seeing it happen failed to make it comedic.

Peter shook the most. He nearly ate the sausage himself. He knelt to see if he still had a pulse or anything, but Kevin was dead.

Summoning food was not safe.