Nightmare Realm Summoner

Alex would have been lying if he said he didn’t find some level of amusement in the stunned looks that he was getting. There was something deeply amusing about a bunch of Outworlders getting saved by a pair of Nativeworlders and — well, now that he thought about it, he didn’t actually know what Claire counted as.

Whatever restrictions the System had placed on the other Outworlders didn’t seem to have been placed on her. But she definitely hadn’t come from Earth. There were, as far as Alex knew, no Dhampirs that lived on Earth.

But it really didn’t matter. Whatever she was, whatever all of them were, there was only one thing that Alex cared about at this exact moment — and it was the Spatial Ring on Hazels’ blood-splattered hand.

A ring that she had promised him about half a second before Claire and Alyssa had located the Rotmoss Mass’ heart and killed it.

Unlucky timing, that.

“I…” Hazel couldn’t manage to muster up the rest of her sentence. Her chest rose and fell with focused, heavy breaths, clearly those of a warrior who knew how to regulate their body in a fight.

It was the first time Alex had actually had a moment to take in the group that they’d rescued.

Hazel wore light silver armor that bore a faint, almost gossamer blue sheen within it. The equipment had probably been incredibly beautiful before it had been covered with blood and viscera. It was trimmed with lines of white metal that flowed down in a seamless path to culminate at her fingertips, almost like the spines along the back of a fish.

Her features were tanned and regal, the muck covering her face broken by two sharp, green eyes that still bore into Alex’s skull like they were trying to drill a hole straight through it. There was a certain aura about her that seemed to scream that she was convinced over her own superiority to everyone around her.

That wasn’t helped by the two men standing at her sides. One looked to be about her age, while the other was definitely at least double it. The younger man held his sword in a loose grip, barely even aware of the blood dripping down his face and running along his considerably plainer-looking armor. It, like that of his compatriot, was a plain silver. Their equipment looked considerably heavier and bulkier than what Hazel wore.

It wasn’t hard to tell which of the three was in charge.

I wonder what family they’re from. They have to be Outworlders, right? Most of the people in the Ancestry are Outworlders from what I know. Wait. Now that I think about it, the hell are we called? Grave robbers?

Maybe adventurers. Adventurers seems a bit less distasteful, and I think I heard someone say it a while ago at some point.

“Who are you?” the younger of the two men asked. His words were right on the line between threatening and curious. “You can’t just demand—”

Hazel’s hand shot up into the air. The man’s mouth snapped shut.

Yup. She definitely wears the pants. Here comes the bit where she goes on about how we should feel grateful for having the opportunity to have rescued her majesty, and how she isn’t actually going to give me shit.

And then comes the part where we argue, they attack us, and then I get to take their shit anyway.

Wordlessly, Hazel reached up to the Spatial Ring on her finger. She pulled it free and held it out to Alex.

He blinked in surprise. It was fortunate he was wearing a mask. Any respect the might have farmed during the fight definitely would have been wiped away by the stunned expression on his face as he stared at the ring.

She’s actually giving it to me?

Alex wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He took the ring from her and examined it. The System shimmered to life above the band of metal, revealing its information.

Lesser Spatial Ring (Rare)

Bonded Effect: The Lesser Spatial Ring contains a 3 x 3 x 3 foot cube of extradimensional space folded within it. Inanimate objects and up to 1,000 Credits can be stored within this space. Magical items stored in this space have a chance of destabilizing.

Credits: 200

A grin crossed Alex’s lips. 200 credits. Just like that. A small fortune had practically just fallen straight into his lap. This was already proving to be an incredibly profitable trip.

Alex slipped the ring onto a finger and sent his mind into the magical storage to see what else was in it.

And then he blinked.

Slowly, the grin on his lips grew wider. A disbelieving laugh burst from him as he pulled the ring off and slipped it into his own Spatial Ring for safekeeping.

The ring was completely empty. Aside from the credits, there wasn’t a single thing inside it.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

“You had a fake ring? Seriously?” Alex asked, unable to hide his mirth.

Hazels’ eyes twinkled in amusement. “How is it fake? I do not break my promises. The terms I set have been fulfilled perfectly. You have received my spatial ring and everything inside of it. At no point did I say I only had a single ring.”

“Where’s the other one?” Alex asked curiously. “I don’t see any more on your fingers.”

“Toe ring,” Hazel replied with a smirk.

“This isn’t the first time you’ve pulled this trick, I take it?”

“One can never know when an emergency promise can come in handy,” Hazel replied with a shrug. Despite the slight amusement in her features, she her gaze never once left Alex. She was nowhere near off guard as she seemed. “You don’t seem very bothered by the trick. That’s odd.”

That’s because 200 credits is way more than what I was expecting to get out of this in the first place. If anything, I’m the one that’s a bit confused. The majority of her group just got wiped out. She’s the one that doesn’t look as bothered as she should be, not me.

“I can’t complain about someone getting one over me. Game is game. All I can blame is myself,” Alex said, mirroring Hazel’s shrug.

Claire and Alyssa made their way back across the room to join them, the gentle patter of rain falling all around them muting their steps as they made their way through the blood-soaked hills of moss.

Both of the men at Hazel’s shoulders tensed. Alex couldn’t blame them. They’d just had what seemed to be a small legion completely wiped out by a single room — and Alex’s team of three had cleared it without a single loss.

“Shit,” Alyssa muttered, looking down at the bodies strewn everywhere.

And then there was a short pause.

The two groups stared at each other, suddenly seeming to remember at exactly the same time that they were most certainly not part of the same family.

“Whelp,” Alex said. “Nice meeting you. You can be on your way now. We can skip the pleasantries. The room smells like too many dead people to bother with that. Besides, there’s no need to make this awkward or drag this on any longer, is there?”

The older guard started in surprise. “What? Just like that?”

“What did you want, a written invitation?” Alex asked. “I’m here for an Ancestry. Not to get into worthless slap-fights with Great Families. There’s nothing you have that I want enough to waste time on.”

“Then… why did you help us?” Hazel asked.

Because I asked Shawn to pop us somewhere interesting — and he chose here. And that means there’s something worth our attention in this area. I’m not enough of a psychopath to want to murder people just because they’re in my way… but I have no plans of sharing.

“Because the hall we were going through led to this room,” Alex said.

“You’re telling me that you saved our lives… because we happened to be conveniently placed in the direction you were headed?” Hazel asked in disbelief.

“That sounds just about correct,” Alex said.

Hazel stared at him for a second longer. The looks her guards were giving Alex made it clear that they were reading into this a fair bit more than they really should have been.

“What family are you with?” Hazel asked. “Who are you? I feel as though I may not have properly shown my gratitude. Once this Ancestry is over—”

“Don’t bother,” Alex said. “I’m nobody.”

The guards nodded. One of them shifted as if to move, but Hazel didn’t budge from her spot. Her gaze bore into Alex’s eyes and her jaw set.

“I can’t accept that so easily,” Hazel said. “Even if this was just in passing to you, I follow the Old Ways. I cannot allow my life to be purchased for free.”

“Do you want to give me something?” Alex asked, squinting at her from behind his mask. This was starting to feel a little suspicious. “Weren’t you just smug that you got the upper hand on me in our bet?”

Does she have some kind of ability that lets her track or otherwise influence people she gives things to?

Alex caught himself before he could go down that line of thought any farther.

Shit. I’m totally going to become paranoid if I let myself think like that. Can’t let that happen.

“No. Of course not,” Hazel said. “But I can’t accept that my life has no worth. I’ve never heard it phrased the way you put it, but your words were apt. Game is game — but this is separate.”

I’m pretty sure it’s the exact same thing. But… if you’re so deadest on giving me something, I won’t say no.

Alex cast a glance back at Claire. There were few more apt at handling situations like this than her, but she seemed a little distracted at the moment. It took her a second to realize that he was looking in her direction.

After a moment, Claire inclined one shoulder slightly. She didn’t seem too concerned with whatever Hazel was promising. Perhaps there just wasn’t enough information to tell for sure yet.

The corner of Alex’s lips twitched as an idea struck him.

“Then seek out the town called Mirrorwane should you survive the Ancestry,” Alex said. “Look for a merchant by the name of Finley. He is aligned with my goals. You may feel free to lend him whatever aid you see fit.”

“And who do I say sent me?” Hazel asked.

Man, she’s really digging for my name, isn’t she? Not happening.

“Nobody,” Alex repeated. “Finley doesn’t deal with me directly. He doesn’t have to. Any aid you give him will be more than sufficient as thanks.”

Hazel studied him for a second longer. Then she inclined her head. “Very well, Nobody. I will do as you ask.”

She turned on her heel and strode away, her guards falling in line behind her without so much as another word. They didn’t even stop to say their goodbyes to the dead littering the ground. The three of them left through an exit that seemed to have opened after the monster inhabiting the room had fallen.

A moment of silence passed before anyone spoke again.

“Did the monster drop anything?” Alex asked.

“Yeah,” Claire said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small green scale about the size of her palm. The System shimmered to life above her hand.

Ancestry Key (Epic) — Consumable

Upon Usage: Open a passageway to a secret room.

The description was short and to the point — and it had been exactly what Alex was counting on. He doubted Shawn would have sent them here just because some other family was getting their shit kicked in.

“Perfect,” Alex said with a grin. “So we just have to find the door.”

“I bet it’s in this room somewhere,” Alyssa said. “I was just waiting for the others to leave before I started looking. I’ll get to it.”

Claire nodded. “In the meantime… Hazel seems to have left all her people behind. If she doesn’t have any attachment to them, then I certainly don’t either.”

“Hey, we’re already robbing one grave,” Alex said. “It would be hypocritical to just leave all the new ones untouched, not to mention a huge waste of resources. Let’s find out what our Outworlder friends left behind for us.”