Luka rose to his feet and looked attentively at his teacher. The boy was eager to resume his divine summoning training and learn more about the spirits under Luka's control.
Alectos decided to start today's session while his pupil was in high spirits. "Yesterday, you filled two summoning slots and gained the assistance of Stowne and Tes. You started working with Tes to increase affinity with him. For today, let's practice with Stowne. So, go ahead and summon the Stone God," he said encouragingly.
Luka nodded. He closed his eyes and saw the following in his mind:
As Stowne hovered in the air, his tyrannical aura permeated the environment. "So it's my turn today, eh?" he sneered.
"Yes, please cooperate and work with young Luka," Alectos requested politely.
The Stone God's eyes glared at his fellow deity, but the host withstood the pressure. "Fine! The little pipsqueak needs a lot of help to deal with the Netherese," he huffed. Stowne's focus switched over to Luka. "Little boy, my way of fighting is different from that sissy, Tes," he smirked. "He likes to play with little animals. I'm more of a one-man-army. I smash things with my Skullcrusher here," Stowne explained. He lovingly caressed the smooth surface of his weapon.
"My opponents think they're smarter than me; they run around like little roaches and stay out of my reach," the deity continued. "My basic tactic is to force my enemies to stay in one spot. How?" Without warning, Stowne pointed at Bel. "Petrify!"
The rabbit's body rapidly transformed into stone! But unexpectedly, Bel's innate magic resistance caused a delay in this spell effect! [Bastard!]
"Not bad!" The Stone God was visibly impressed by Bel's ability to resist his spell. Although Stowne and Bel's power gap was humongous, the caster saw that his target breached this difference with sheer stubbornness. While the god could recast Petrify several times in a row to overcome the spell resistance, Stowne declined to take this action out of respect for Bel.
Bel managed to dispel the magic with great effort, and the rabbit's figure became 100% flesh and blood again.
"You're the first person to resist my Petrify spell," Stowne announced with admiration.
Bel suddenly lunged forward and attacked the barbarian! The rabbit scratched at Stowne's bare torso with his claws.
Several thin lines appeared on the god's skin. But it felt like a rock, and the attacker couldn't draw blood from his target. Stowne was amused and placed his hands on his hips; he allowed the rabbit to attack freely without retaliation.
Although Bel put 100% of his strength into these blows, his rabbit form failed to break through the stoneskin. Instead, it felt like Bel was hitting a wall. Nonetheless, the demon king refused to stop his rampage because Bel desired to vent his anger. After a few hundred strikes, the rabbit nonchalantly hopped away.
"Well, that was entertaining," the Stone God chuckled.
Bel's eyes turned red. [Let's go another round, bub!]
Luka suddenly jumped in front of the rabbit and blocked Bel. "Stop! I need to practice with Stowne," the boy reminded his familiar.
"Right! I can't keep him in this realm for long," Alectos added with a sense of urgency.
[Well, convince that stone head not to petrify me!]
"Fine, I'll ask my partner to create targets for me instead," Stowne agreed while looking at Luka.
"Yes, I can create Light Balls and move them around." The boy immediately proposed a solution to appease the two.
"Excellent idea!" Alectos praised. The teacher was happy with his pupil's quick wit to defuse the situation.
With encouragement from the instructor, Luka cast Light Ball repeatedly and moved them around like will-o-wasps.
Stowne snorted and waved his free hand at the glowing fireflies. They soon became encased in stone, and then the Stone God swatted them to dust with his Skullcrusher. Wamp!
The deity and student then engaged in an impromptu match where Luka controlled his Light Balls to avoid the petrifying magic. At first, the boy lost all his flying objects because Luka couldn't move them well enough. But with practice, he slowly improved his mental connection with the Light Balls. Also, Luka began to combine his Critical Insight with his magic sense to follow how Stowne used his unique ability. Once the mage saw the Stone God's magic more clearly, Luka had more success directing his Light Balls to avoid the petrifying spells.
Hence, Stowne's 100% destruction rate of the Light Balls on day one dropped to less than 25% within a week! With his hot temper, the Stone God became disgruntled and refused to continue.
"Let's end the training for today. Luka, tomorrow you will summon Glacius and practice with him," Alectos announced.
"Thank you for your help, Stowne!" the student said and bowed his head to the Stone God.
"You're going to play with that frigid weirdo? Good luck, lad!" Stowne made a face and then dissipated.
The God of Magic smiled faintly. "Get some rest, Luka." Alectos disappeared.
Luka accepted his teacher's advice and went to bed early.
The next day, Alectos appeared in the magic realm again. This time, Luka was already up and anxious to start the practice session. The God of Magic smiled. "Summon Glacius," he ordered.
The boy mentally activated his Divine Summoning skill and chose Glacius from his list of summons. A pale, blue light appeared above the summoner's head; the ice god's form soon manifested.
Luka looked up at Glacius and then lowered his head. "Thank you for intervening with the assassins and saving my mother and me," Luka said with great appreciation for the deity's action.
Glacius nodded slightly. Then his eyes focused on Alectos. "You wish for me to practice and increase my bond with the child?" the deity assumed. His voice sounded firm but dignified.
"Yes, we need your help," the God of Magic confirmed with a nod.
Glacius shook his head. "My Frozen Wonderland is a killing move and not suitable for practice with the child. But I noticed that he is practicing the Demonic Arts and refining his body. I could activate my Iceflame instead and help him develop cold resistance," the spirit proposed.
Alectos turned toward Luka to solicit the child's opinion. "What do you think?"
"That's fine with me," Luka agreed.
"Sit down," Glacius ordered.
The boy obeyed and sat cross-legged before the ice god.
Glacius held out his hand, and a blue flame appeared in front of Luka.
The boy's skin turned cold, and his limbs began to experience numbness, too.
"I know it feels cold, but bear with it," Glacius warned.
[Activate Enragement!] Bel advised.
Luka incited the droplets of demon essence within his body to activate the Demonic Art. He felt a fire lit up inside his heart, and a warm aura spread throughout his body to ward off the unnatural coldness.
Glacius's thin blue brows rose in surprise at this development. He wondered how much demonic blood the boy received from the sealed demon king. If Luka gains too much foreign blood, then he risked losing his humanity.
The Ice God carefully controlled his bluish flame to ensure Luka's body adjusted to the freezing temperature. The simplest method was to observe how much the boy shivered before the ice flame. Glacius began with a small fire, which Luka tolerated easily. Then the deity steadily dropped the temperature and increased his ice flame's intensity. Whenever Luka inevitably shivered uncontrollably, Glacius would slowly elevate the temperature until the boy adjusted to the cold.
At first, Luka couldn't tolerate the cold fire at all despite the protection of Enragement.
Glacius wasn't surprised by this development because the deity understood that his divine cold fire was potent.
Frankly, Luka could not resist the ice flame by relying on Demonic Art. Instead, he tolerated the
frostbite and used light magic to heal his wounds. Since Luka possessed the Singleminded trait, he endured the pain to his skin and flesh until his body adjusted to the magical cold.
Alectos observed these training sessions without interfering with the participants.
Luka's special training with Glacius lasted for three weeks, which was a surprisingly long duration compared to the mere seven days which the boy had spent with Stowne. In a sense, this reflected the additional difficulty for the pupil in handling the Ice God's power.
After the three weeks period expired, the two deities decided, by mutual agreement, to cease Luka's harsh training. The reason was that Luka was still a young boy, and the entities feared that such intense training during his childhood would backfire and inhibit Luka's future growth. Therefore, Alectos granted his pupil a week to rest and organize his thoughts and experience.
Luka used this brief holiday to sleep more. Whenever he felt restless, the boy chased after Bel and sparred with the familiar. Luka slowly recovered from his physical and mental fatigue.
Chapter 16
Dark Catacombs
Alectos returned after a week as promised.
Bel and Luka were already up and waiting to hear what the teacher planned to do next.
Alectos saw the excitement on his pupil's face while the familiar stamped his foot on the ground incessantly. "I'm sure you're tired of living inside this magic realm," he began.
[You got that right!] The rabbit nodded his agreement. Truthfully, the lack of change in scenery was slowly driving Bel crazy. However, the demon was too proud to admit it. Oh, Bel certainly had ways to cope with his discomfort -- such as bullying the young lad and hitting him harder than necessary during their spars. But there was a limit to employing such tactics against Luka before the boy rebelled. Thus, Bel had stored a bellyful of anger with no outlet to vent!
"For your next training exercise, you will explore the Dark Catacombs," the God of Magic announced.
"What is that place?" Luka asked excitedly. He was anxious to practice his skills and magic on live targets!
"The Dark Catacombs is the former base of a group of notorious, dark sorcerers who kidnapped innocent people and sacrificed them in exchange for power. Altima and I send out followers periodically to this location and check to see if the former inhabitants have returned," Alectos explained.
[So we're going to play tourists and go sightseeing?] Bel snorted in derision.
The god shook his head. "You don't understand. The Dark Catacombs is a large labyrinth spanning over a hundred miles from end to end. There are many unexplored areas. The place is notorious for hidden traps and teleportation arrays to secret rooms and even dimensions. While the previous explorers created maps, the catacombs seem to change every visit. Hence, these maps aren't reliable."
[If this place is dangerous, why would you send a kid like Luka there? How do you know that all the evil sorcerers are gone? How would you take responsibility if they capture and sacrifice Luka?] The rabbit glared at the deity as if the god was unreasonable.
Alectos felt amused by Bel's reaction. "I'll address your second question first. Several decades ago, the Adventurers Guild investigated the wholesale disappearance of villagers and townspeople from the southern part of the Morninglory Kingdom. The guild created a trap for the kidnappers by embedding tiny homing stones within the food and water supply. Once the commoners disappeared, the magic artisans followed these signals and discovered the isolated plane. Afterward, the Divine Church of Light took command of the operation and devoted massive resources to destroy the base. The church employed special sniffers to find the hidden sorcerers and wipe them out."
"As to your first question, Luka is very suitable as a scout since he possesses spatial magic. Once he sets up magic beacons inside the Catacombs, Luka could escape any danger that he can't overcome. Also, his light spells offer double effectiveness against dark sorcery. Given these considerations, Luka is the best candidate to explore the Dark Catacombs," the God of Magic concluded.
Bel smacked his forehead. [In other words, you picked the kid because he's too talented.]
"You could say that," Alectos agreed readily. "Since you're Luka's familiar, you will join him in exploring that location," he added. "Your protection would ensure Luka's safety."
The demon puffed his chest. [I'm Luka's master! I will keep him safe!] The rabbit hopped on the boy's body several times to climb up. Soon, he landed on Luka's head.
"Is anyone else coming with me?" Luka asked.
The teacher smiled faintly. "This is your mission. It's not appropriate to bring other people such as members of the Divine Church of Light," he noted.
[You're better off going in solo. Use Illusion to hide your presence, and then teleport short distances to explore the place unimpeded. If you have a party tagging along, they will draw slow you down.]
"Exactly," Alectos agreed amicably. Frankly, the instructor wished for Luka to have minimal contact with the church because Luka hadn't finished his training. Unfortunately, the organization embedded itself in every corner of the Morninglory Kingdom. Thus, sooner or later, Luka had to deal with the church and its unbridled ambition. The boy's divine bloodline and status as "Altima's Godson" made Luka a critical chess piece of the church and its plans.
Approximately three years remain before Luka finishes his magic apprenticeship. Alectos planned to expend every single second of this period to avoid having the boy fall into the clutches of Pope Demetrius.
The teacher tossed a stone and a scroll toward his pupil, and Luka caught it. "This is a Stone of Recall. When you're ready to leave the Catacombs, hold the stone and say, 'Recall.' The destination is already preset to this realm. The scroll is a map of the Dark Catacombs from the most recent survey by the church. While exploring the place, create multiple beacons to escape dangerous traps and monsters," Alectos advised.
Once Luka put away both items, the teacher created a magic gate; a black doorway appeared midair. "Good luck, Luka!"
The pupil nodded and entered the portal with his familiar. The next moment, Luka arrived in a world of twilight. The newcomer looked up and saw a sky full of twinkling stars. He looked around and noticed that he stood in a swamp. In front of him was a stone pillar with an arched doorway. A gate protecting this opening had been mangled and wrecked.
Luka set a magic beacon at the entrance. Then the mage created a Light Ball and entered. Suddenly, he teleported to an underground cavern. The air was stale and moist. An occasional dripping of water punctured the eery silence.
Bel's long, rabbit ears perked up. [ don't sense any creatures nearby.]
The boy entered the passage and immediately stopped. He noticed opaque water coating the floor and frowned.
[This water is quite troublesome because it could hide traps on the ground. You should use Void Step to hover above the water. With your accelerated mana regeneration and magic cost reduction, you should be able to maintain the spell.] Bel advised.
"That's a good idea!" Luka replied. He took the familiar's advice and cast Void Step. The young mage decided to float one foot above the water in case monsters were swimming within.
While the Void Step slowed the boy's movement by more than half, Luka didn't mind the slower pace because his safety was most important. Besides, Alectos didn't set a deadline to complete the survey. Instead, the boy suspected that his teacher wanted Luka to experience traveling in a new environment while facing a bit of danger.
Bel, on the other hand, felt annoyed by this slower pace. But he was a passive rider on the boy's head, and the demon understood the necessity of safe exploration.
When the duo reached the first intersection, Luka consulted the church's map. He discovered that his current location was at the southern edge of the labyrinth. His heart sank when the explorer noticed that many portions of the drawing were blank!
Bel looked down from his perch on the boy's head. [Let's head over to that blank space to the northeast.] The demo
n suggested.
"Okay," the boy agreed. Luka decided to lay down multiple beacons within the labyrinth as escape routes. He took a moment to place his first beacon near the wall.
Bel watched the youth's activity. [How many beacons can you set up right now?]
Luka thought for a moment. "I can create twenty beacons in total. But I laid down two already," he answered.
[Then that means you'll need to ration a portion of them for quick escapes from traps and other dangers.] The familiar warned.
"Okay," the child nodded. Luka peered down the two passages when the explorer reached the first intersection. He noted that the left side was broad with an uneven surface while the right tunnel looked smooth. Luka quickly decided to enter the right path because it appeared artificial. Therefore, he was more likely to encounter items and artifacts left behind by the former inhabitants.
Luka strolled through the narrow passage and took care to avoid touching the walls. The Light Ball continued to hover a few paces before him like a canary in the coal mine. To the boy's surprise, he did not encounter any traps during his first hour of exploration.
Luka encountered a handful of intersections during this period. He consulted the map with Bel upon arrival, and the two compared the passages to the drawing. So far, Luka did not find any deviations, and his confidence in the map's accuracy slowly increased.
The boy noticed that his location was close to a section marked as "Herb Garden." "Let's visit the garden," Luka proposed while pointing at that spot on the map.
[Fine.] The familiar agreed. Bel was feeling claustrophobic, and a more expansive space would greatly alleviate his anxiety.
The two explorers continued navigating through the enclosed tunnels and regularly checked the map to confirm their direction. Roughly three-quarters of an hour later, they arrived at the herb garden.
The garden was inside a large cavern with hundreds of light stones embedded within the ceiling. This area was oval-shaped and approximately five miles in diameter and half that in length.
The Divine Summoner: Godson of Altima Page 13