I summon...

by Xinrick

Chapter 14

Years and many danger times avoided with the help of my monsters and Cecilia being the one who wears the pants in their relationship…

In several cases I witnessed that to be more literal than I ever wanted to know…

I was nine now and soon would be needing to take an apprenticeship. For what though…

“Hmm…” I hummed. “There’s a lot of things I can apprentice for…Summoner’s core maybe? Or should it be Tactics?” I grumbled, scratching my head as I didn’t know what to do.

I had options, several that could help me greatly when I get back to Equis… but I still didn't know what to pick. This was like submitting for college all over again…

I groaned and hit my head against the table. “Ugh~! This sucks…” I scratched my head and tried to think of what I could do. “Screw it…Tactic’s it is.” I said, signing up for the tactic’s apprenticeship.

“Language.” Dad said as he walked passed me.

“Sorry.” I said nervously. “Just…annoyed about this, it’s like College all over again…”

“Heh, I can see that. Though to be fair, what you learn in your apprenticeship will be more useful than college and no debts. Honestly I can’t believe so many planets across the multiverse still make people pay for an education like that…” Dad sighed. He then picked up a book from the nearby shelf. “So, you’re gonna be a tactician?”

“Well, gotta learn some tactics when I’m all about summing and stuff.” I admitted. “Plus it would help me plan out how I’m going to start fixing Equis…” I sighed, scratching my head as I didn’t even know where to start with that nonsense.

“You’re still a child Mike, you shouldn’t stress so much about things that are so far away.” Dad said, walking over and scruffing my head.

“I know I know.” I said, my tail wagging at the scruffing. “But…it’s still just a big thing to worry about…”

“Being a god isn’t an easy thing. An Admin, even harder… and you’re working to be an All Maker, that’s gonna be extremely hard. Tactics are important, but you’ll also need to learn more. I know someone you can apprentice under that can help you. Before you can become an All Maker, you need to start as a god.”

“Who’s the one I’m apprenticing under?” I asked curiously. “And…never thought a Children’s Card game could lead me to becoming a God…”

“His name is Wolf, and he’s a God of War.”

“God of War…uh…sure.” I said slowly. “And his name is Wolf? Why?”

“He quite literally had the soul of a Wolf God’s firstborn shoved into him and Wolves were around when he was born where they really shouldn’t have been.” Dad said, giving what I can only assume was a brief explanation.

“Huh…that’s cool.” I said honestly. “So what’s he like?”

“Bit of a nerd. Most of what he does is spend time with his harem and… well, I don’t think I need to explain what, but they do have a few universes they oversee.”

“Huh…” I blinked. “That’s…interesting…also how common are Harems?”

“Yes.”

“Of course…” I sighed. “So, I get to be with a God of War…now is this the ‘Tactical’ kind of War or the ‘Rip and Tear until it’s done’ kind of War?”

“Both. Like I said, he’s a nerd.” Dad laughed.

“Well…at least I have someone else to nerd out with.” I said honestly.

---

I wasn’t sure what to expect about this Wolf person. I knew he worked with Aunt Pain on and off, and I guessed that from his name he was maybe at least wolf-like in terms of looks or something. I wasn’t expecting a very humanoid looking Blaziken with his own unique versions of the Blades of Chaos bound to his arms.

“Hey.” Wolf said, giving me a wave. “You’re Mike, right?”

“Yes I am…and ya know, when I heard the name ‘Wolf’, I didn’t expect a Blaziken.” I admitted.

“Heh, yeah that’s… a story…” He sighed. “So, I was told you plan on becoming an All Maker. That’s a long journey.”

“As I’ve been told.” I nodded. “But I’m ready for it.” I said readily.

“Alright. Well first step is to become a god, this entails some trials and such to take. But first, you need to know what kind of God you want to become.”

“And what kind of god am I going to be?”

“You have to choose.” Wolf said.

“Well…I don’t know what kind, cause so far my powers are in summoning and casting Yugioh cards…plus I don’t know the full extent of all this to be honest.”

“Hmm… Let me ask you something.” Wolf started. “What is it you hope to do once you become an All Maker and return to the realm you came from?”

“I want to fix the world that Nitch made, to help the world not be so uncaring and contradictory…to help the world see that what’s going on shouldn’t be the status quo, that it shouldn’t be some bloody miracle that I managed to get two sisters from nearly murdering each other on an hourly basis…” I frowned. “That being one example of many…”

“Ah, yeah… Nitch… I met him before… I was on the team that slaughtered his UwU shakespeare reality…” Wolf said, shivering. “Well, if that’s your goal than I know exactly what type of God you need to become. A God of Order.”

“First, thank you for murdering that abomination of a reality.” I nodded. “And two…a God of Order? Well…I suppose that would make sense given I also have to play by some rules with my cards…”

“Yes, it will also more easily help you counteract the natural order of how Nitch’s realities work, which are as you can imagine, chaotic. Unfortunately, Order and Chaos go hand in hand. You would be paired with a Chaos God to help you… keep a balance on the world and in reality, on top of that you would need to find one that is willing to also become an All Maker with you, because if one or more powerful than the other you or they might accidentally consume the other unwillingly.”

“O-oh…right…” I said nervously. “That’ll be…something to think about.’

“Lucky for you however, I already have someone in mind. Maybe you two could become friends.” Wolf said.

“Oh really? Who would that be?” I inquired.

“My son, Harlow. He’s about your age and I’m sure you two can get along.”

“Cool.” I said with a smile. “Always happy to make new friends, when do I get to meet them?”

Suddenly, I was tackled to the ground in a hard faceplant.

“Now. Harlow, meet Mike.”

I managed to force myself to turn and look. Harlow was… he was a humanoid Mareep, only his fur was pitch black and his horns were more like a ram’s in terms of looks but still had the colors.

He was also sitting on my back… ouch…

“For being a wolf I expected you to have better instincts.” I heard Harlow say.

“Oh…oh this isn’t going to be fun…” I muttered. “Can you please get off?”

“Make me.”

I frowned, trying to use my hybrid strength to get him off me. “And what pokemon are you? You don’t look like any Mareep I’ve seen.”

“I’m still a Mareep, I just like my fur and horns like this.” He said, jumping while sitting on me still, forcing me back onto the ground.

“Harlow, play nice.” Wolf sighed.

With that, Harlow got off. I pushed myself up, dusting myself off and seeing Harlow just rolled his eyes at me. “Not my fault he’s a weakling. And he’s one of the children of Joy the Paladin and Jenny the Sniper.”

I huffed, bringing out a Heroic Hammer and bonking him on the head. “I’m a lot stronger than you’d think.”

He swiped the Heroic Hammer from me… and broke it with his hands. Snapping it in two, the item reverting back to a card that was ripped in half. “And I’m stronger than you in general.”

“And you owe me a new Heroic Hammer card.” I frowned.

---

“So he’s just mean then?” Brandy asked me and she and I were deck building at my house today.

“Yes.” I nodded. “Was hoping for a friend, not a bully…and while I know my possible job soon will need me dealing with more of his nonsense…it won’t be fun.”

“Well, it sounds like he doesn’t respect you because he sees you as weaker than him. Maybe try and prove him wrong? Maybe try and duel him?”

“He’ll probably just rip apart my cards again…” I sighed. “I mean, I can probably force him to be weaker, there’s plenty of cards that can do that…”

“Maybe, but if he’s trying to become a chaos god, he can possibly will himself to disobey the cards effects.”

“Which sucks…” I sighed.

“Hopefully you can figure something out.”

“I’m trying…” I sighed. “But what apprenticeship did you pick?”

“I decided to work in Soul Processing.”

… Huh…

“Soul Processing?” I inquired. “What’s that like?”

“Well depending on which department you choose you work in either making souls or helping to prepare them for reincarnation.”

“That’s cool…I suppose that’s what Nitch was doing…” I hummed.

“A form of it, yeah.” She nodded. “It’s just gonna be extracting the personalities of the souls from their previous life and putting it into a new body, then the soul gets sent to reincarnation.”

Huh… personality entering a body?

“Huh…didn’t think I’d hear personalities entering bodies before.” I said honestly.

“Yeah. The soul is like a sponge when it’s in a living body, the memories, personality, ect from their time alive. I’d be extracting that and putting them into special bodies that can house them in the form of the body they had or wanted in their past life and doesn’t allow the negatives from being in a body that is soulless and Heartless. They’d be no different from when they were alive.”

Huh… didn’t know that… Interesting…

“That is really interesting.” I said honestly, thinking about how that all could work.

“Yeah.”

---

I huffed. My body aches, both from the abuse and the exercise, in my hand was a foam club that was thick enough to hurt but not really deal damage. I could barely grip it now.

That being said… Harlow used his and ran circles around me. Damn it, how is he that fast? That strong?! This… skilled in a fight?!

“This is royally unfair.” I frowned. “How are you this strong!?”

“I’m just better than you.” He shrugged. “Shame, you’re part wolf and part griffon. Two predators. I’m basically a sheep. Isn’t this sad you can’t even land a hit on me.” He laughed, smirking at me.

“Yes, yes, I get it, you’re compensating for something that I don’t care about.” I growled, as when he went to strike me again I used Darkworld Shackle on him, a ball and chain latching onto his leg as the ball started to laugh at him and I dodged away from his slower swing.

He huffed, looking to the laughing ball and chain. He gripped the chain and pulled the laughing ball up to him, stuffing his club in there before he dropped it, reaching down to his foot and-

Snap!

I backpedaled… Harlow… dislocated his own ankle, the cuff above it slipping off as he glared at me. With an audible pop he put it back into place, not even flinching when he dislocated it or popped it back into place.

“That all you got?” He asked, yanking the club out from the ball’s maw and then throwing it by the chain back towards me.

The ball and chain disappeared as it went back to my deck. “Okay, hold up, the hell was all that!?”

“What?”

“You just dislocated your own ankle, and then popped it back into place without even batting an eye! The hell!”

“It’s called a pain tolerance genius.” He said with an eye roll.

“Well one of us has to be if you’re dumb enough to not understand my question.” I frowned. “You are nine years old, you shouldn’t have a pain tolerance that stupidly high…or even know how to dislocate your own bones…”

“Unlike you, I’m putting effort towards my goals. As much as I can.”

“And what goal is that that involves a nine year old to go through enough pain that dislocating their own ankle isn’t that bad?” I asked incredulously.

“To become the strongest of the All Makers and cross past the barrier to the other side beyond Afterlife.”

“That kind of sounds impossible, why are you magically thinking about this?” I asked.

“Because no one knows what’s on the other side… at least. No one willing to talk.” He growled. “If it’s something only the strongest can know then I will become the strongest to know.”

“So you’ve devoted every waking moment to this single dream?” I asked.

“Yes. Unlike you, I take my goals seriously.”

“And unlike you, I see that Life is worth more than being a simple minded idiot wanting to do nothing but obtain a dream that’s way out there time wise.” I said bluntly.

“Pst. Did you forget who you were born to? We’re ageless you idiot. Time isn’t something I’m concerned with, and when you return to whatever reality you come from, you’ll be outliving them too, even gods. If you become an All Maker, only another All Maker can kill you. You’ll outlive that universe by countless eternities, even as you are now, you’ll live long enough to see that big star filled universe decay in it’s heat death.” He smirked. “Time is something we’ll have plenty of.”

“So you’ll just let Life slip past you in your quest to be the best, like no one ever was?” I asked. “That sounds…stupid and depressing.” I admitted.

“Hm, then I guess you won’t mind when I outpace you in strength and… consume you.” I flinched. “I mean, I won’t mind. You however, well, do you really want to die so easily?”

“I activate Zero Sum…” I said coldly, as the cocky smirk the Mareep gave me seemed to give way to a look of horror, as I got up and smacked them with the bat and knocked them down like they did to me. “You will never surpass me, you will never consume me, and you will regret threatening me…you understand?” I growled as I shoved my claws into their arm, which my ears flicked up when I heard…

A gasp of pain…

“Wh-what?” I asked in suddenly realization, whatever feeling I had a moment ago vanished as I…I felt woozy…”Ugh…the heck?” I staggered back a bit and tried to get my bearings after…whatever the hell that was.

Before I could let go, Harlow grabbed my arm, the one with the claws still piercing their skin and gripped-

CRACK!

I screamed as I felt my wrist break as he pulled me off him, then punched me across the ground.

“Tsk. Lucky shot.” He huffed. I felt my wrist… numb, then suddenly move and twist back into the right position before a cool feeling washed over it and I could move it again, the pain gone.

I looked back to Harlow and the claw marks of mine were already gone from his arm.

“Well…glad regeneration works…” I muttered, shaking my head again and trying to get my head back on straight. “But power alone won’t get you anywhere, especially if you’re doing it all by yourself.” I told the normally smug prick.

“And all the thinking and planning in the world won’t mean shit when someone comes along that can just pile drive your plans into the ground.” He spat. “There’s always a bigger fish. Someone will always be better. Be it stronger, or smarter than you.”

"Could have fooled me with that sudden display." I countered, though I still wondered what that feeling was and what 'Zero Sum' actually did, cause I was able to hit him and hurt him when I normally couldn't…

“If you’re ever gonna listen to anything I say, then listen to this. Someone will always bullshit you. There will always be at least one that you can’t beat.”

“Gee, thanks for the advice Captain Obvious,” I said sarcastically. “Do you have any other advice that I already know about or are you going to try and tell me something but have it thrown out cause you’ve been nothing but a jerk to me since we met.”

“Yeah.” He said, snapping his fingers. I looked down to see there was suddenly a card under me. “You aren’t the only one who knows how to play with cards.”

I got hit by a blinding flash before…

I was now bound in chains, a heavy muzzle over my snout and a-

I felt something snatch my deck from me and looking at the culprit, it was a small little green racoon looking creature that then gave my deck to Harlow.

Did he just… subdue me?

I lunged after the bastard to get my cards back, fury aiding my lunge at this rat bastard, as I just wanted rip his head off!

He side stepped me, the chains around me making me fall to the ground as he was looking through my deck. “Heh. Good set up, but cards from mass production will only take you so far.” He said, walking away as I was trying to inch worm towards his feet. “That Zero Sum card trick, now that was noteworthy. Didn’t think you even had it in you to create new cards. Guess you take after your parents more than I thought.”

"Get back here you fucker!" I mentally shouted, struggling against everything as I just got more and more furious here.

“How did it go… right, like this.” He said, snapping his fingers. Another card appeared under me, and I felt… weak. I felt a sense of helplessness hit me like a train as even gravity felt like it was threatening to break my bones. And mixed into all that I felt a sense of dread and fear.

When the card under me faded, so did the feeling but my heart still wouldn’t calm down… shit.

The chains around me vanished and I managed to push myself to sit up. Harlow placed my deck in my hand. “And next time you think you got one up on me, remember,” He said, grabbing my wrist then headbutting my muzzle. I fell back feeling the heat from the pain and a trickle of blood spill from my nose. “Anything you can do, I can match and surpass.”

I…don't know what happened next…all I heard was cards flying…I felt my teeth puncturing something…and the taste of sheep blood in my mouth…but this blood boiling rage wouldn't stop…I thought I felt myself get hit but my heart wouldn't stop pounding…

---

“Heh, did you put Harlow with Mike to force him to be more physically aggressive?” Joy asked.

“Mike has a long… hard… painful road ahead of him. If he wants to become an All Maker, he needs to know how to fight as well as how to think.” Wolf sighed. “Harlow is rather brash and prone to violence, if anyone was going to force it out of Mike it was him.”

“Heh, think they’ll figure out they knew each other back on their earth?”

“Maybe. With time. For the most part Harlow doesn’t care to remember their past life. Can’t blame them, it was… rather cruel.”

“That why you took him in when he died?”

“Yeah. Unfortunately he saw… him just before passing so… that’s why he’s obsessed with the other side of the Afterlife Barrier.”

“Heh, too bad it doesn’t open from this side.”

“Yeah, still, Harlow won’t stop trying. When it does open I know Harlow will be the first one to go through that door.”

“Heh. Yeah. So, should we stop them from repeatedly killing each other?”

“Nah. Mike needs to vent all that anger out and Harlow can use a proper sparring partner.”

"YOU WILL DIE ALONE AND WEAK AND I WILL LAUGH!" They both heard me scream in pure rage.

"I'm sure they'll be the best of friends." Joy chuckled.

“Ten rem says they’ll end up a thing.” Wolf added.

“OH BITCH ME A RIVER YOU FUCKER!” Harlow roared.

"BRING IT YOU EDGY COTTON BALL!"

"Twenty says Harlow turns into a bottom." Joy added.

“Fifty says both are subs to Brandy.” Wolf said.

"Okay that's no contest." Joy laughed.

To be continued...

Comments

[Seeker1]

Is there ever gonna be some actual dueling?

[Xinrick]

11651136
Well...trying to think about it but it might happen later