Book 3: Chapter 108: Summoning Astral Beings |
After an incredibly fulfilling vacation, the new semester finally began.
Once classes started, the new students finally noticed something was off.
"Chief Hedra has advanced?"
"That fast?"
No one was surprised that Sylutia had advanced, but as students of Tetis College, they all held themselves to very high standards, so they generally only advanced after preparing very thoroughly, ensuring their core abilities were strong enough.
"Ahem, everyone quiet." The instructor on the podium stopped the apprentices from talking, then dispelled everyone's doubts.
"As you can see, Hedra has already advanced, and there's no trace of haste about it. She was more than sufficiently prepared." In truth, she was overly prepared. Even among Tetis College students, not everyone was as wealthy as she was, spending over ten thousand gold coins to gather the most perfect resources.
After the instructor finished explaining, he finally told everyone the plans and goals for this semester.
"This semester, you will learn relatively advanced things, and gradually get in touch with some of our school's exclusive secret arts, which will improve your abilities in various ways."
"I'm sure many of you have already seen this combat style of summoning astral beings, especially Apprentice Xavier's demonstration during the opening competition." The instructor stood at the podium, lightly tapping the drawing board with his staff, causing images of various astral beings to appear.
"In ancient times, humans could rely on animals as assistants to aid in combat and daily life. As mages, we can also use summons to supplement our combat power and deal with difficult situations."
"First, the primary goal of summoning a being isn't simply to increase combat power, but to solve problems."
"For example, you're on your way home and encounter two bandits blocking the road, one in front and one behind. They're both armed. If you engage one, you'll expose your back to the other."
"Even if you're far stronger than both of them, due to the limits of your attention, when facing a pincer attack, you'll inevitably get injured or have an accident. At that moment, you just need a low-tier summon to hold one of them off for a short time, and you can deal with them safely and without injury."
"The purpose of summoning beings is to solve problems."
"You are powerful. You command a variety of devastating spells, and razing a town is easy. But when you're in the labyrinth of the Shadow World, facing countless paths and relentless monster attacks day and night, even someone as powerful as you will eventually exhaust their stamina and mental energy."
"Faced with this problem, you just need to summon a suitable being to help you determine the direction and track your target, and to stand guard for you at night. This way, you can keep fighting."
"Do you understand the examples I'm giving? When summoning an astral being, it's not about the strongest being best, but about what is suitable for the problem you urgently need to solve."
"Remember, we are mages. We have many methods. Don't just brute-force everything."
After explaining the main principles of the course, the instructor began introducing the specialties and uses of various astral beings.
"First, starting with Second Tier beings..." He waved his staff and tapped the drawing board. One of the beings enlarged and occupied the center of the picture.
【Ear-Drilling Worm】(Second Tier · Alien Star), translucent in appearance, shaped like a writhing black silkworm.
Can invade the enemy's cerebellum, causing extremely weak tinnitus in the mind, leading to splitting headaches, vomiting, loss of balance, and impaired consciousness.
"These worms look small, but they are very effective against warriors with strong mental power. Even a Seventh Tier being can often incapacitate a weakened Eighth Tier warrior, causing imbalance, nausea, tinnitus, and collapse."
【Luring Lampfish】(Third Tier · Alien Star), a floating strange fish with a large glowing ball dangling from its forehead.
The lamp ball emits fluorescent light and an exotic fragrance that attracts insects, sustaining itself by eating them.
"If they face a large swarm of insect-type enemies, using these lampfish to lure the swarm away in time will be the most cost-effective method."
Afterwards, he introduced several more Second Tier beings. It wasn't until the end of the lesson that a familiar Astral Being to Sylutia appeared on the drawing board.
【Evil Eye】(Third Tier · Alien Star), a large floating eyeball monster with different forms and abilities.
Eye Tyrant beings are extraterrestrial lifeforms with basic intelligence. They all possess focused shooting abilities, with offensive power ranking high among Third Tier beings.
"Among the many summonable Third Tier beings, the Eye Tyrant is a very versatile creature. It can be used for reconnaissance, surveillance, control, and even aggressive shooting," the instructor introduced.
"However, the difficulty of summoning this creature is also among the highest for Third Tier beings. Beginners should not attempt it lightly."
"In the past, there was a cult called the 'Hundred-Eyes Sect' that was very skilled at summoning these creatures. They also had special means to allow the Eye Tyrants to exist in the mortal world long-term, becoming combat power under their command. This was very powerful among Third Tier professions."
"Long-term?" some apprentices questioned.
"Yes, our usual summons rely on sacrifices and rituals to make a summoned being appear briefly and obey us. This is certainly convenient, but each summoning costs a price."
"The Hundred-Eyes Sect was very special. They could contract the descending Eye Tyrants to themselves, allowing them to remain in the world long-term without being rejected by it."
"This means that even a very poor-quality, low-level Third Tier practitioner could use this method to possess above-average Third Tier combat power. Especially when they gathered a certain number, they could easily focus fire and eliminate enemies from a distance." The instructor spoke of the Eye Tyrant's advantages.
"Extremely long sight range, the ability to break invisibility, and locking precision shooting. Once these Eye Tyrants reach a certain number, they become a group of difficult enemies to deal with."
"But the 'Hundred-Eyes Sect' was only strong during the Third Tier stage. After contracting an Eye Tyrant, the practitioners found it very difficult to advance further. The entire sect lacked high-end combat power, and in past eras, they were easily crushed and wiped out by various major factions."
Hearing this, Sylutia recalled that Sect Leader of the Hundred-Eyes Sect, who had plotted for years to topple a kingdom, just to make a sacrifice and advance his own rank.
No wonder they were called a cult; it wasn't the right path. Short-term strength made the subsequent path of advancement increasingly difficult.
Afterwards, the instructor detailed the conditions and resources needed to summon an Evil Eye. Many students listened with great interest, and some even discussed what it would be like to have an Eye Tyrant guard their house.
It would be very effective, Sylutia commented inwardly.
Back when she was in the Hidden Grove Alliance, she had used sealed, tamed Eye Tyrants for home defense. These creatures had excellent vision. Even ordinary invisible beings couldn't evade their sight, and they could stand guard tirelessly for twenty-four hours.
The only real challenge was how to summon them. After all, these creatures were considered vassals of the Evil God, and an ordinary mage summoning them would face erosion and contamination.