My Summons Are Mythical Beasts

The night was deep and silent when Lucas arrived at the Safe Area.

Compared to the bustling activity from earlier, the place now felt almost abandoned. The usual crowd of summoners and students was nowhere to be seen.

Lucas thought that it must be because it was already near midnight, and most had either returned home or ventured deeper into the dungeon to hunt for beasts. The former were mostly the second-year students, while the latter usually contained the seniors.

He made his way to the dungeon exit, stepping into the cool night air as he emerged into the real world. Lucas stabilized himself a little bit before he scanned his surroundings. Compared to earlier, the entrance of the dungeon was no longer as bustling as well.

Looking around, he realized that it was only the two guards as well as a receptionist sitting on her desk. The three of them were unfamiliar to him; they were probably the night shift workers.

The three of them turned their heads toward him simultaneously. Their stares only lingered for a bit before they resumed with their previous impassive countenance. The receptionist, though, smiled at him and beckoned for him to come over. Enjoy more content from empire

Not knowing what she wanted, Lucas walked to her desk and asked, "Yes?"

"It's a cold night, isn't it? Here, take this extra shirt that I prepared for situations like this," she said as she handed him a folded white shirt.

Lucas stared at her and the brand new shirt that she was holding. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "It's free, right?"

His Starlight Coins were limited, and he had reserved them for another dungeon entrance fee, so he could really not afford to buy a shirt right now. He still had a number of them in home anyway.

The receptionist smiled and shook her head.

"Don't worry about it; it's just a mundane shirt; no need to feel burdened about it."

Lucas abandoned pretense and took the white shirt from her hand. He took off the torn shirt he was wearing and replaced it with the new one.

If it was free, then there was no reason to refuse.

"Thank you, ma'am," Lucas said respectfully as he stored the torn shirt inside his torn bag.

The receptionist nodded at her and went back to what she was doing before. It was only then at this moment that Lucas realized that wrapped around her hand was actually her summoned creature. The beast was glowing with faint pinkish light that illuminated her hand with the same faint glow.

Although he could not make out what kind of beast it was, he could vaguely tell that it was some sort of vine-like creature.

The receptionist no longer paid attention to Lucas, so he eventually left as well.

The streets were quiet; the stillness of the night spoke volume to the growing peace humanity earned through bitter battles and defeats.

When Lucas arrived home, he found the house dark and silent. Since he informed his parents about his plans in advance, they had gone to sleep without waiting for him. Not wanting to disturb them, he carefully slipped inside, moving as quietly as possible.

However, even that was thwarted as soon as he saw a lone figure lying on the dilapidated couch situated in the small area of the house's living room.

"She's very stubborn, isn't she?"

A deep voice resounded, startling Lucas. He turned to look and realized that it was his father, who was sitting in the reclining chair right beside the couch.

Without giving him a chance to respond, his father continued, "She was determined to wait for you, but her exhaustion got the better of her, and she eventually fell asleep."

Lucas nodded his head quietly. He wanted to say that there was no need for it, really, but that would seem like he was invalidating the determination of his mother—that was far from his intention.

"Wait for me for a bit," his father stated as he stood up and picked his mother up from the couch in a gentle princess carry. He carried and transferred her to their own room, returning a moment later with a medical kit in his hands.

"You're injured."

His father said, clicking the light switch to illuminate the little space they have in the living room. His words carried no inquisitive tone. It was just a plain statement, as if he was just rumbling out and was not particularly expecting an answer.

Lucas was a bit startled upon hearing those words. He was sure that the only injury or wound he had left was on his back, and that was now obscured by the brand new shirt given to him by the receptionist.

Was it the bandage underneath that had given it away?

As if hearing his thoughts, his father sat on the couch and beckoned for him to come over before he spoke, "It's my skill. I can smell the bloody wound in your back."

'Oh, right. I forgot about that.'

His father's skill was an auxiliary type. His Strong Ape, being very timid, awakened and learned a new skill that allowed it to smell blood so that it could avoid seeing blood. It just so happened that this was the skill that his father had inherited when he broke through to Iron Star 1.

Their luck in that regard was more or less the same.

Lucas walked over and sat in front of him with his back facing his father. He took off his shirt, unwrapped the bandage and revealed his wounds toward him.

Thanks to his recent rank-up, the wound had already begun to close and heal. However, his father still winced the moment he saw his wound up close.

The Shadow Lynx had really left its mark on him.

His father released a deep sigh and started to tend to his wounds. "What kind of beast did this? I know you well. Even if you could not defeat one, you were already strong enough to evade an Iron Star 1 beast with ease even before you awakened."

Lucas winced in pain as the cotton drenched with antiseptic touched his wounds. "From a Shadow Lynx," he answered truthfully.

"A Shadow Lynx? Isn't that an Iron Star 3 beast? What's your business fighting such a strong beast? You're lucky that you're still alive, boy!" His father sounded stern and a little angry.

"It's alright. I was just careless." As he said so, he summoned his grimoire and showed it to his father.

Three shimmering stars with the color of iron glowed resplendently at the center of his unranked grimoire. The shimmering stars and the dull, dilapidated grimoire created contrast that one would not be able to ignore at first glance.

His father's eyes widened in shock and bewilderment.

"Ouch! You're pressing it too hard!" Lucas grimaced as he tried to move his wounded back away from his father's clutch.

His father remained frozen, still staring at the three shimmering stars at the center of his grimoire's cover. His words were stuck in his mouth. It was only a moment later that he finally came to his senses.

"I see. I got it. No wonder you are still confident of succeeding before. I thought it was just false hope and confidence. I did not expect that you truly were confident."