Dark Fantasy Guide for the Summoner - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 13.
The Overturned Train Ⅰ
A damp sensation brushed my cheek, and when I opened my eyes, I saw fluffy fur.
…….
What is this?
I studied it for a moment before the identity clicked into place.
A weasel.
More precisely, a Magical Beast—a Blade Weasel.
……How is this creature still alive?
Chirp.
The weasel, watching my alarm, raised one paw with a sharp gesture.
It looked exactly as if it was saying, “Well, friend. We both kept our hides intact, didn’t we?”
[Your keen Intuition has allowed you to read the Magical Beast’s true feelings accurately.]
[The ‘Blade Weasel’s Trust Level has increased.]
Friend—my foot.
I was raising my hand to push the nuisance away when a voice cut through.
“Ah! Kaindel! You’re awake!”
A familiar voice sounded.
The mage Kazen.
Exhaustion seeped from his half-blackened face.
“……Where am I?”
“You’re safe. Inside the Train.”
It certainly looked that way.
The interior was a wreck—capsized and ransacked by that Shadow entity—but someone had managed a bare minimum of tidying. At least there was a roof, which beat sleeping outside.
I pushed myself up on my elbows, and the blanket that had been draped over me slid away.
My head throbbed for a moment, and part of me wanted to lie back down, but I forced myself to ignore it and opened my mouth.
“How long was I out?”
“An hour or so, I’d estimate.”
At least I hadn’t slept for days on end.
Which meant the darkness outside the window wasn’t just from storm clouds—the sun still hadn’t risen. So it was still well before dawn.
……A cursed long night indeed.
“I’ve kept watch on the surroundings just in case. There’s been no suspicious movement. For now, we seem to be safe.”
“Safe? The archer is still alive, isn’t she?”
The Dorman Party was nearly decimated, but an archer named Reina remained.
It wouldn’t be surprising if she burst through that cracked window and sent arrows our way.
‘The odds are low, but she could’ve gone seeking backup from another party.’
Of course, it was her people who turned to robbery first, but words are fluid—their meaning shifts depending on who tells them and how.
If that woman decided to paint us in a foul light, clearing up the misunderstanding wouldn’t be easy right now.
“You needn’t worry about that.”
“Why not?”
My tone had turned questioning, and I felt a twinge of regret for it, but matters of safety weren’t something to dismiss lightly.
The mage’s expression grew uncomfortable.
“Well, there is a reason, but wouldn’t it be better if you rested a bit longer before I explained?”
“No.”
“It would be faster to show you directly than to explain in words, but you still seem to be having trouble moving about.”
Showing me directly? That sounded loaded with meaning.
“I’m fine. No trouble moving. Actually, I won’t be able to rest easy until I’ve seen for myself what’s going on.”
“Hmm……. Very well, then.”
My wounds had seemed serious at first, but the first aid had been good—the pain wasn’t severe.
If anything…….
‘My body feels lighter than expected.’
Was this another effect of my improved physical attributes?
Since it wasn’t a bad thing, I’d check my condition later. For now, I followed the mage out of the Train.
The downpour had stopped—apparently it had been a squall.
I picked my way through the slick mud, and then Kazen’s appearance caught my eye.
“You were impressive out there.”
“Pardon?”
“Your skill with the bow.”
“Ah.”
Only then did Kazen notice the Crossbow jutting from beneath his sleeve.
“Isn’t that more suited to your talents than magic?”
I wasn’t being sarcastic—I meant it.
Hitting a target from several hundred meters away in darkness was a skill that would challenge even a seasoned archer.
The mage scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“It’s just a hobby. I don’t particularly enjoy archery, really.”
“You made one yourself, though?”
“Not specifically because it’s a Crossbow. I’ve simply enjoyed making things since I was young. But I was criticized for such a vulgar hobby, so I never pursued it deeply…….”
A vulgar hobby, he said.
So this one really is from a noble family?
‘Please don’t tell me he’s actually aristocracy.’
The odds weren’t particularly high.
The nobles in Popop were all steeped in privilege, superiority complexes, and the arrogance of the chosen.
But a man who speaks politely even to Reina didn’t fit the profile of nobility.
“Then I suppose I owe my life to that vulgar hobby of yours.”
“Pardon?”
“Thank you.”
The mage stared at me blankly, then broke into laughter.
“Not at all. If it weren’t for you, we’d likely all be dead by now.”
Yet he sounded genuinely pleased.
Like someone unused to being praised for anything at all.
[Kazen is beginning to feel faint trust in you.]
A message appeared—telling enough in itself.
Besides, a Crossbow is a remarkably complex weapon, from what I understand.
Unlike a bow, where a limb and bowstring are enough to fashion something functional, a Crossbow incorporates mechanical elements.
And he forged a scythe in the midst of all that chaos—clearly, this one’s manual dexterity is no trifling matter.
‘I wonder what his Art rating is.’
A character’s manual skill scales with their Art attribute.
With this level of craftsmanship, he’d undoubtedly receive significant bonuses when using Gathering, Material Preparation, or above all, Crafting.
For a moment I wanted to glimpse his status window, but without officially recruiting him as a party member, there was no way to do so now.
I’d look into it later…….
Lost in thought, I passed through several ruined Train cars, and then I spotted my sister.
…….
Kria was crouched atop one of the Train cars, staring down at something.
Following her gaze, I found a corpse.
‘She’s got an iron stomach, doesn’t she.’
The body was so mangled it would make a weaker stomach turn, yet my sister observed it without a flicker of emotion.
Scanning the area, I noticed a shattered bow laid beside the corpse.
“An archer?”
“Yes.”
“You two didn’t…….”
“No. When we found them, they were already dead.”
That made sense.
The body appeared to have been slashed repeatedly, its original form nearly unrecognizable—a horrifying sight.
From the state of it alone, I knew neither of them had done this.
If the goal were merely to kill, the corpse wouldn’t be in this condition.
The archer’s body had been defiled after death.
‘……What kind of bastard does something like this?’
Someone capable of reducing a body to this state likely harbored serious psychological disturbance.
Their Mental Corruption Level may have already reached critical thresholds, or they might suffer from traits like Murder Addiction or Mental Fragmentation.
“Hmm…….”
I recalled a few notorious psychopaths among the Delvers aboard cars one and two, but realized it was pointless.
The Delvers boarding the Train were always random.
Still, regardless.
‘……It’s truly over.’
The Dorman Party that had threatened us was annihilated.
That much was certain.
* * *
The frenetic pace that had driven us forward finally ceased.
At last, a moment to catch our breath was granted.
‘Though hardly a generous one.’
Still, I’d managed to secure enough breathing room to regroup properly.
The moment I returned to the train car, the first thing I did was finally check my status window.
Player: Kaindel
Level: 17
Class: Summoner
Stress: 31
Attributes
Strength: 10(+1)Agility: 10(+2)
Endurance: 10(+1)Magic Power: 10(+1)
Bonus Points: 7
Talent
Physical: D-Mental: D
Art: FIntuition: E+
Skills
,
Traits

Seeing the status window, a tangle of emotions washed over me.
On the positive side, my level had already jumped to 17.
Starting at level 10, this meant I’d climbed seven levels just from taking down those shadows.
Most of it probably came from that octopus thing.
‘The bonus stats must be from taming the Blade Weasel.’
The total bonus stats came to five—a substantial gain.
That was equivalent to what you’d normally earn leveling up five times in one go.
Just this alone hinted at the broken nature of the Summoner class, but…
‘Ugh.’
Something felt off.
I’d never seen a game with returns and risks as starkly balanced as Popop.
If these were the advantages of being a Summoner, there had to be corresponding drawbacks somewhere.
The unease gnawed at me, but there was no way to determine the answer now, so I set it aside.
Instead, I focused on the problems in front of me.
‘As expected, Scythe Mastery did manifest.’
Early on, having multiple skills was generally better, but Weapon Mastery was the one exception.
The more you accumulated, the sharper the efficiency drop.
This was because the proficiency requirement skyrocketed with each additional mastery you learned.
‘If the first mastery needs 100 proficiency, the next one requires double, and the one after that quadruples.’
So two would be 200, three would be 400, and four would jump all the way to 800.
Some classes did learn three or four, but the conventional wisdom was to stick with one, two at most.
‘There are ways to remove them, though.’
The cost was steep, and moreover, it was a feature locked until you reached the Royal Capital.
Which meant it was a distant concern for now.
‘A scythe, of all things.’
Aside from being awkward to use, my biggest worry was the sheer lack of information about this weapon type.
I had no idea where to find endgame weapons, let alone decent mid-tier gear in the early and mid-game stages.
‘Wait.’
Actually, there was one place.
The Hidden Boss in the Abandoned Cemetery map.
The activation conditions were brutal, and defeating it would be even worse, but…
Once you cleared it, the drop rates were solid, and it yielded a weapon good enough to carry you well into the mid-game.
Beyond that, the Abandoned Cemetery was a dungeon worth clearing in its own right.
‘Right, so the weapon question is settled.’
I’d deal with the Scythe Mastery issue separately.
Now came the class skills and traits to review.
Summoner
Combat Type: All-RounderWeapon: ―
Primary Attribute: Magic PowerPrimary Talent: Intuition
The Summoner can enslave entities that meet certain conditions.
Combat type: All-Rounder?
So I could fill roles beyond just tanking or dealing damage—I could even heal.
‘…It’s not entirely implausible, I suppose?’
Not only do I gain additional stats from summoning a beast, but I can now use the creature’s skills as well.
If I tame a beast specialized in combat support, I might even manage to mimic a healer.
‘No particular weapon recommendation, but the main stat is Magic Power, and the key talent is Intuition.’
Magic Power makes sense, but I’ve rarely seen a class where Intuition is the primary stat.
It’s mostly a trait you’d find in sub-class lines like Gambler.
Summoning
You can summon beings that do not regard you as hostile. The success rate of summoning is influenced by your Trust Level with the target.
Currently summoned beings
1 / 1
Summonable Species
Beast Species
When I pressed on the summoned entity, the status window of the Blade Weasel I’d seen before appeared.
‘So the structure limits me to one additional summoned creature per ten levels.’
Which means the actual number of summons I can control is relatively small even among Summoner classes.
Though that’s only natural when you consider the exceptional combat prowess of Magical Beasts.
‘Three more levels and I can summon another one.’
I also realized that summoned beasts use different terminology for incapacitation and death compared to other summoned creatures.
‘Now that I think about it, other Summoner classes use different words for death altogether.’
For undead it was “Soul Annihilation,” for golems “Complete Destruction.” Spirits, which have no concept of death, showed “Contract Dissolution.” Beasts, it seemed, simply said “Death.”
So that’s why the weasel was still alive.
‘Finally, the trait.’
Beast God’s Favor
You have received the blessing of the Beast God. From now on, most Beast Species will not regard you as hostile, and you may occasionally receive special tasks from them. If a summoning attempt fails, you gain one additional attempt.
You may need to periodically prove your capabilities to the Beast God…?
So that’s what it was. The reason the die rolled one more time even though my summoning failed.
‘This is rather… actually quite good.’
For someone whose luck is absolutely abysmal, that extra summoning attempt is genuinely valuable.
I’ll only attempt summoning when I’m seventy percent certain or better, so the odds of failing twice in a row are nearly nonexistent.
‘But what does “prove” mean exactly?’
Even pressing on the description text yielded no further information.
It unsettles me, but I suppose I’ll have to move forward for now.
‘So I’m truly walking the path of a support character….’
A hidden class I’ve never heard of, an odd trait, and a scythe—a weapon I’ve barely ever handled. It’s utter chaos.
And the two candidates for companions…
“…”
Perhaps not bottom-tier.
My aptitude as a mage or spirit user is abysmal, but my combat sense isn’t bad.
Besides, I’ve nearly died to D-rank threats myself, so it feels wrong to keep dismissing these two as bottom-tier.
‘Still, three of us seems a little thin.’
Of course, back in Popop I maintained a playstyle of never recruiting party members, but circumstances have changed.
Now that this is reality, I need to use every resource available—and even that may not be enough.
Tap-tap.
As I was thinking this through, I felt something scratching at my pant leg.
When I looked, it was the weasel. It seemed to be saying something like, ‘Hey friend, were you planning to leave me out? That’s pretty cold.’
[With your keen Intuition, you have accurately discerned the true feelings of your tamed beast.]
[The Trust Level of ‘Blade Weasel’ increases.]
…Why is this creature so easy to read?
Of course, given the Blade Weasel’s combat power, it’s more than capable of replacing a solid party member.
‘So that makes four?’
Just one more person and we’d have a decent group.
The Delvers in slots one and two have likely already entered the forest.
Even if any remained, I doubt they’d join such a ragtag outfit as this.
Still considering a quick check, I was about to leave the Train car when Kazen spoke up.
“Are you heading out again?”
“I want to scout the area a bit more.”
“Ah! So your body’s recovered after all.”
At that, I did a quick assessment of my overall condition.
I felt at the wounds I’d sustained in my fight with Dorman, and specifically at my abdomen where an arrow had been lodged.
“Hmm?”
Remarkably clean.
As though he’d never been wounded at all.
I thought he’d only received a quick patch job.
“Did you have a Potion left?”
“Pardon?”
“There’s not a single scar on him.”
Kazen tilted his head in bewilderment.
“A wound? There wasn’t one. We simply moved Kaindel from where he’d collapsed in the forest to somewhere safe.”
“What?”
“I’m saying—Kaindel never had any wounds to begin with.”
What in the world is he talking about?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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