Others Summon, I Forge Beast Armor

The students of Montclair and Rubverton Academy were unaware of the changes the Duchess had made for the joint term.

When the Trial ended and they returned to the academy, they would discover that Principal Claris was gone. In her place would be the Vice Principal, acting as Principal until further notice.

This change might not affect most of the students, but it could affect Luke. Principal Claris had always been a lifeline and a shield for him. What would happen to him now that his shield had been taken away?

But right now, Luke had a bigger problem to solve.

It was literally a life-and-death situation.

If two words could describe the party as they went through the floors of the pentegate, they were determination and contentiousness. That was until they reached the final floor, where they were forced to face a mutated Sigma-grade manifestation.

The worst part was that this gate was the kind that split the hunters into separate simulations called Acts.

Separating hunters reduced their chances of survival because each Act was different.

Luke and Scarlett entered Act 1, where they had to fight monsters and slay the boss, while Raven and Vivian entered Act 2, where the objective was to uncover clues about the apocalypse and learn hidden knowledge. There wasn’t even a boss waiting for them at the end.

However, Luke didn’t know that, so he believed his sisters had to face the same exacerbated creatures as him.

The dungeon was cold and as vast as an abandoned abode of gods.

Nothing was inanimate. The mutation made candles dance, and paintings on the walls loop like moving pictures. Even the shadows were alive, crawling across the floor before returning to where they started.

The difference between a corrupted dungeon and a mutated one was that corruption was caused by an external force like unstable Aeon, but mutation had a different reason for every new instance. Sometimes it changed the monsters. Sometimes it changed the environment. Other times, it could completely change how the dungeon worked.

There was no way to know what kind of mutation they would get until they entered.

Luke, Scarlett, and the young weapon user walked until they arrived at an enclosed porch. Surprisingly, they still hadn’t encountered a single monster.

Several system messages floated a foot ahead.

〖Cursed Narthex: Defeat all Chapel Keepers to unlock each sanctuary.〗

〖Cursed Narthex: The chapel’s curse intensifies every five minutes. Do not linger unnecessarily.〗

〖Cursed Narthex: Defeating the High Deacon will reveal the path forward.〗

Luke read all the notes that felt like a video-game tutorial.

The messages were coming from a Zombie Clergyman standing in the narthex, making it the first monster they had encountered since entering the mutation.

A blade sliced through the air.

Schllk.

The Zombie Clergyman became headless a second later.

”Hello? You imbecile?” Scarlett snapped her fingers at the weapon guy as he calmly wiped his katana clean. ”Why would you kill it? What if it had more intel to give?”

Even Luke wore an angry look. He couldn’t believe the audacity of the guy. His presence here wasn’t even certified, yet he had gone ahead and decided what happened first without asking either of them.

If that Zombie Clergyman had more information about the dungeon, they had just lost it because somebody couldn’t wait a few more seconds before swinging his sword.

And he wasn’t even sorry about it.

”Killing it early gives rewards instead of the remaining intel,” the weapon guy said as he pointed at the items the Zombie Clergyman dropped. ”It’s a trade-off.”

〖Mutation Elixir: Immunity to mutation. 10 mins〗x3

”That’s why I’m a Gold-rank hunter.”

Luke and Scarlett looked at each other, realizing maybe the guy’s experience really could be useful to them after all.

The three shared the Mutation Elixirs equally. Who knew how they would have battled the mutation otherwise? Also, Luke didn’t even have toxin-resistant armor yet, so this was a pretty good find.

”Well, if you’re that experienced,” Scarlett said while storing away her elixir, ”can you tell us why the dungeon mutated from Beta to Sigma-grade?”

”Isn’t it obvious?” the weapon guy replied. ”The concentrated core we came for. Do you think nothing happens when five Beta dungeons become one?”

Luke made a sound behind his mask. ”So you and your party came here knowing fully well you could run into a mutated dungeon... or something even worse?”

That question alone was enough to expose the confidence of Count Lucius and his cohorts, and also just how powerful the vampire really was.

But the weapon guy drew three katanas and a Morningstar instead of answering.

Luke thought for a second that he wanted to fight him, but he later realized the hunter was looking behind him.

”Monsters...” one of the three whispered.

An army of misshapen creatures was marching toward them. Some dragged their bodies while others limped, and in the back was a slightly bigger monster—a Zombie Priest with eyes ignited by blue fire.

”According to the system, that must be the Chapel Keeper for this sanctuary,” Luke said as he adjusted his gauntlet and tightened his grip on his spear. ”Now I wonder how many sanctuaries there are before the boss.”

”Let’s find out!” Scarlett grunted.

In no time, she was off the ground, borne upon wings of red flame.

The weapon guy tried to join the fight, but Luke put his arm in front of him. ”Leave this one to her,” he said.

CAWWWW!

The cry of a phoenix.

The Mythic beast descended like a red cloud onto the monsters, exploding the battlefield in plumes of orange grace.

Quickly, the weapon guy backed up behind Luke as the flames came at them. Luke raised his gauntlet and let the rest of his armor withstand the heat wave that followed the explosion.

He looked again and saw that Scarlett had soloed the monsters. She was slaying what was left while her flaming phoenix fed on the dead Zombie Priest.

Luke smiled behind his mask.

”My girl,” he whispered, proud of her.