Summoner: The Book of Dimension

5 Summon a skeleton warrior

If there was a generally-used summoning circle, that would be the basic gram circle.

Any summoner of any spiritual power level could use it, but mostly rookie summoners used it as it wouldn’t require much of spiritual power.

However, it would need more summoner if the summoner wished to summon a superior creature. So expert and experienced summoners would choose a different summoning circle.

Since it was the first try, Ray wanted to make sure it would work with a high success rate, so he called the others to share their spiritual powers.

“I don’t want to acquaint my spiritual power to the creature you’re summoning,” Peter firmly disagreed.

Ray sighed. “It wouldn’t hurt you. I’m the one summoning it, I should be the first one the creature would deal with. Besides, once we form this circle, each of you could use it, too.”

“How are you even sure about that?” Peter asked, skeptical.

“Just trust me,” Ray said.

“If the creature happens to kill me, I’ll kill you first before I die,” Peter warned.

Ray laughed. “Alright, alright.”

With their weapons by their foot, the four of them linked hands and focused their spiritual power and the book to form the summoning circle. Peter couldn’t help but get distracted by the bloodstain on the basement door.

He gulped thinking his blood would stain there too if he’d die.

Their personal record of silence was made and slowly, something like a projected beam of circular light flickered on the floor. They stayed and focused until there was a complete summoning circle visibly shining on the floor.

Everyone, mostly Ray, was in pure amazement. They couldn’t believe what their eyes were seeing.

The summoning circle worked. That only confirmed Peter’s guess that the result of them summoning something would either be good or bad. The worst thing that could happen was, there was a possibility that they’d die.

And that thought alone made Peter grow more anxious.

Being able to read and understand the Orrinatta language without even studying it was a phenomenal mystery for all the veterans and seniors of summoners.

Most of the summoners learned Orrinatta language through their fathers, whom they inherit the book from. As of the day, they couldn’t explain such an event.

About a percent of the summoners’ population experienced this phenomenon. Peter, Josh, Ray, and Zack happened to be part of those percentages.

Some senior summoners thought it was the book’s magic, and they had a theory that the book itself chose the people to understand the content of the Book of Dimension because it was their fate.

Although they didn’t have any proof to support the theory, it was pretty much considered as an explanation for accidental book owners to suddenly understand the complex and cryptic language used for the book.

Some summoner seniors also theorized that it was that because the book could sometimes be attracted to those few who had exceptional spiritual power, especially those who had potential in taking care of the book.

In the case of these four guys, the book must’ve been attracted to one of them who had the said exceptional spiritual power.

“I’ve never seen something like this,” Josh exclaimed in astonishment.

Although Peter grew anxious, he couldn’t help but become slightly astonished to see the summoning circle glowing on the concrete floor.

The summoning circle was white in color and shined like a light. It had few circles inside it with some kind of merged shapes. It also had few characters that looked like symbolic elements that worked like a magic spell to make the circle work.

“It’s done. You all can step back a little,” Ray said and now mainly focused his spiritual power on the circle to take control of the summoning circle.

After memorizing, he tossed the book which was successfully caught by Josh. Ray closed his eyes and then recited his mantra to summon the skeleton warrior.

 “The minor creature from the Altas world;

 Undead humanoid with a fragile body of bones, a vapidity soul and empty thought;

 I sacrifice blood to you, I hold sword for you and I scent the dark from you.

 In my name, Ray Gavinson, I command you to appear in this world!”

Strong whip of wind surrounded the summoning circle, strong enough to make their clothes and hair billow through the wind.

After the sudden wind sent few specks of dust and small objects flying around the basement, it disappeared just for a small cloud of black and dark colors to appear inside the circle.

Everybody held onto their swords and was ready to use it in case the creature would attack them anytime.

As the portal grew bigger, something of chalky-white color started to poke out of the portal. Bones of a foot, then the next was the rest of its bony structures. For a second it stood there before it automatically picked up the weapon that Ray had prepared earlier.

When they saw that, they knew Ray had successfully summoned the skeleton warrior and the book was actually working like it was supposed to be.

However, Josh’s fight or flight reflex was suddenly activated. Out of fright, he charged at the skeleton warrior while screaming. Before the skeleton warrior could even react, Josh used his own sword to yank the skeleton warrior’s sword away from its grip.

“Josh!” Surprised, Peter and Zack ran to Josh and pulled him away from the circle. Perfect timing. Josh was just planning to s***h the skeleton warrior into pieces.

Which Ray didn’t want to happen.

Ray started to do what he got to do. He ran behind the flustered skeleton warrior and put it on a headlock using his arms. The skeleton warrior wouldn’t die with choking since it was only made out of bones.

But at that, the skeleton warrior was taken as a hostage and he couldn’t do anything without any weapon on its possession.

Without wasting time, Ray took his own weapon, which was a metallic dagger, from his pocket. He thrust the dagger on top of the skeleton warrior’s head until the skull was cracked open.

Something like a ball of fire was inside the skull and with his bare hands, he took it and let the skeleton warrior fall in the middle of the floor lifeless and out of its earlier form. Now, it just looked like a pile of skeleton bones in the middle of the basement.

“What the heck was that?” Zack asked as he looked at the fire in Ray’s hand.

“I think it’s like, the only thing that makes the skeleton alive,” Josh said. Peter looked at Josh and wondered how could he even think of that.

Peter looked at Ray and his eyes were only on the fire in his hand. He assumed it wasn’t hot because Ray wasn’t showing any signs that he was in pain.

The fistful of fire was yellow to orange in color, and Ray’s hand was slowly absorbing it until it was gone. It was what was called the spirit fire. Just like what Josh said, it was where the skeleton’s life was from. That’s why he only became a pile of the skeleton when he didn’t have any spirit fire anymore.

Now that his body absorbed it, he forcefully read the memories of Alec. Now that he died, vivid memories projected before his eyes, as if he was in that memory.

He learned that the skeleton warrior was Alec, a prisoner of war during the Punic Wars between 264 BC to 146 BC.

As the memory goes, Ray vividly experienced everything in Alec’s position, as if it was his own memory. The physical and emotional feeling of every single thing as the memory flashed before his eyes, he felt all of them.

Alec grew up in a tiny city in Rome with his family ever since. Although born with a poor family, he could never ask more of the happiness his life could offer.

His life was simple. His daily routine was as simple as a simple kid would wish. He always had a laughing fit with his father, while he enjoys the simple food her mother could cook.

Ray laughed to watch Alec’s sister get mad at Alec’s prank, and since he was on Alec’s position, it seemed that she was mad at him. He found it hilarious.

Ray envied one thing. Alec could play outside like a normal kid. When he was as young as young Alec, he never experienced going outside to play with other kids. Now that he was experiencing Alec’s memories, it felt like he finally felt the feeling of playing out in the sun.

Alec learned things through his mother and father since they couldn’t afford a proper education. Ray could tell that it was the same as the school would teach.

He lived his happy childhood days in the countryside assisting his father to his work as a farm owner’s caretaker.

However, Ray experienced Alec’s happy childhood days suddenly going downhill.