Others Summon, I Forge Beast Armor

Luke arrived back at Montclair Academy in Lin Moon’s ride. She didn’t give him a ride just to be nice. She also had a package that needed to be delivered to Lucy Blackstone.

The car stopped in front of the academy, and Luke reached for the door. Before he got out, Lin Moon handed him the package.

She noticed the careful look on his face.

”Relax, Lord Luke,” she said. ”It’s not contraband, and it won’t help Lucy cheat her way through the joint term.”

Luke turned the package over in his hands, trying to guess what was inside by its weight and shape.

”Then what’s in it?” he asked.

Lin Moon let out a small sigh and looked toward the academy buildings. It wasn’t really her place to talk about it, but since Mr. Blackstone trusted Luke, she decided to tell him.

”Miss Lucy’s summon hasn’t achieved any growth at all for the past eighteen months,” she explained. ”It hasn’t evolved, learned any new skills, or shown any improvement. It’s been worrying her father for a long time.”

She looked at the package again.

”He hopes this package might finally spark some progress. The logic is that combining the contents with the stimulus from this joint term might force the breakthrough she needs.”

Luke was surprised to hear that.

A whole year and a half without any progress? Could someone even call themselves a summoner after that?

That kind of problem usually happened to people with low-tier beasts or summoners who had already reached their biological limits, like old age. But if Luke was right, they were talking about Lucy Blackstone. A teenager with noble blood, still far from her prime.

”She’s been stuck for that long?” Luke asked. ”What tier is her summon?”

”Elder tier,” Lin Moon answered. She watched Luke carefully for a moment, narrowing her eyes slightly. ”I assume you know who Lucy Blackstone is, yes? If not, I can deliver the package myself. I’d rather avoid any problems.”

Luke found it amusing that she wasn’t convinced of his competence. ”Haha. Yes, I know who she is,” he said. ”She is in my class.”

”Wonderful,” Lin Moon replied. ”Then please make sure you hand it directly to her. Don’t let any other student touch it. Goodbye, Lord Luke.”

The car door shut, and the vehicle drove off into the night, leaving Luke standing alone in the cold.

Luke stood in silence for a while. He checked his phone for any messages he hadn’t answered yet. Scarlett. Vivian. All checking up on him. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he started walking toward the EX-area.

Ever since Rubverton’s High arrived, Montclair Academy felt different. It almost felt like he was walking through a completely different school. Tension was everywhere. Students from both academies usually gathered with their own groups, sometimes arguing in the hallways, while the professors tried to stop things from getting worse.

And this was only the beginning of the term.

In the crowd, Luke had noticed some VIP students watching his fight with Ryan. Matthew. Taymond. Sheba. Ayn. And Derek, the guy who was trying to marry Scarlett.

They were not your average sophomores.

Luke had a feeling some of them could actually threaten his armor. They had powerful beasts and real experience fighting.

But there was no turning back now since he had taken Ryan’s combat bracket.

Soon, Luke arrived at the EX-quarters just in time for dinner. He changed into his nightwear before walking to Principal Claris’s suite.

The place was impeccable, upscale, and yet comfortable at the same time. Not every day does institutional luxury feel welcoming, but Principal Claris had done a nice job of making the space feel like home.

Luke noticed her owl resting peacefully on the balcony while the smell of food filled the entire suite.

In the kitchen, Principal Claris and Camilia were preparing porridge together.

”Luke? Perfect timing. The food will be ready soon,” Claris said.

Luke nodded politely and walked toward the dining table. He was about to sit in the closest seat, but Camilia stopped him.

”No, Luke. Pick another seat,” she said. ”That’s my spot. I always sit on the right side of the Principal.”

”Sorry, Miss. My mistake.”

The seat on Claris’s left side was empty, but Luke didn’t take it either. He chose the seat on the opposite side of the table, the seat that faced the Principal.

Camilia frowned at his choice but ignored it as she returned to help the Principal with dishing the food.

Principal Claris looked motherly as she served portions of the food, while Camilia looked like her well-raised daughter. Meanwhile, Luke was as silent as a guest as they began to eat.

Principal Claris was the first to break the silence.

”So, Luke, do you know which student is currently at the top of the joint term leaderboard tonight?”

Luke took another bite of his food.

”Who?” he asked. ”Honestly, ma’am, I didn’t even know they had already set up the leaderboard.”

”It is you, Luke. Your victory against Ryan Razael gave you the first points of the Exchange, putting you at the top of the rankings.

However, I doubt you will remain there after tomorrow morning. There will likely be many challenges. Camilia might not even be able to keep track of all of them.”

Over to Luke, he wasn’t sure if challenging fellow students was his thing, so yeah, he didn’t mind getting demoted while others engaged in meaningless brawls.

If getting demoted from the top spot meant he could be in the background while the rest tore each other apart, then that was fine with him. In the meantime, his sights were set on the trials. That was the real deal.

By tradition, the joint term was divided into three T phases after the orientation week.

Trials: Students would face dungeons or similar challenges, designed to evaluate their combat.

Tournament: After the Trials, students who performed poorly would be eliminated, leaving only the strongest students to move on to the final phase: Test.

Unlike the first two phases, the Test was always different. Nobody knew what they would face until it started. Sometimes it involved defending a city, helping a country, or completing some other impossible mission.

The journey might be rigorous, which was why the position as Dux was justified.

Luke kept his attention on his plate, trying not to think too much about the competition. For now, the porridge was more important. Principal Claris was a really good cook.

Meanwhile, Camilia watched him eat before deciding to speak up.

”I forgot to ask,” she said. ”Luke, what are you planning to do with Ryan’s summoner supplies? What use does someone without a beast have for double the rations?”

Luke smiled.

No, he hadn’t forgotten.

He still needed to revive the Dark Dragonlord, another Mythic beast. The only thing missing was its breastplate, and then the armor set would finally be complete.

A beast of that level wasn’t exactly going to have a small appetite. If anything, Ryan’s supplies were nothing more than an appetizer.