Rick leaned back on his chair.

Even though he had lost count of time when caught in the Planar Tribulation, not a moment single moment had passed in reality.

“But the rewards make all the torture bearable,” he said looking back at the string of notifications he had just gone through.

Not only had his overall stats increased in leaps, but he had also reached a new level of mastery in his Tranquil Heart skill as well.

But more importantly he had found the Planar Core Rune or at least a part of it, and he had also unlocked all the requirements for becoming a Summoner as well!

“Tomorrow, everything tomorrow,” he said with a yawn.

His mind was completely drained of all energy after the Planar Tribulation.

“Wait, before that,” he opened pushed himself up and looked at the open Lemegeton.

 

Consolidating the owner’s understanding of the Planar Laws

Completion at 12%

 

“Good,” Rick said standing up from the desk.

He had instructed the Lemegeton to compile all the information he could from his experience from the Planar Tribulation and the process of acquiring the Planar Core Rune.

“Pip, I am going to bed, do you want to come along?” Rick said as he stumbled his way to the bedroom.

“Peep! Peep!” she replied in short squeaks.

“How was I supposed to know you were already sleeping?” Rick said feigning annoyance.

---

As the first streak of light crept its way into the room, Rick opened his eyes in a snap.

He flung the sheets off and jumped out of the bed. He shuffled through the wardrobe of his new house and quickly found a fresh pair of clothes which fit him and changed into them.

“Let’s get busy,” he said rubbing his hands in excitement.

He pulled out the Lemegeton as he walked into the study.

 

Consolidating the owner’s understanding of the Planar Laws

Completion at 45%

 

‘I expected it to have completed by now,’ he mused a little disappointed.

 There was little information about the Space element in the Lemegeton. This meant that even though he had become a Pseudo-Planar Mage, he did not learn any new spell afterwards.

“I should check on how to become a Summoner,” he cleared his mind and sat down on the desk.

The pages of the Lemegeton flipped open to the new volume on Summoning.

Rick flipped through the pages to see how much he had to read and cursed right after.

“This is too much! Isn’t life after apocalypse supposed to be full of adventure and stuff? All I end up doing is read,” he observed.

Even as he complained, he flipped open the first page and started reading.

 

Summoning

“Do not trust a Summoner who says he is unarmed’ - Yngvarr, the Deserter.

A Summoner uses his knowledge of the Planar Laws to create summoning artifacts. There are various ranks of Summoners divided on the basis of a summoner’s comprehension of the Skill and his ability

Novice Summoner:

One who has taken the first step into understanding the Summoning arts…

 

Rick  read every page of information available diligently, stopping ever so often to stop and understand what was mentioned before continuing.

He stopped only when it became too dark to continue.

“I have to pick it tomorrow again,” he said shutting the Lemegeton.

He stood up from the chair and sat on the cold floor cross-legged and began practising his Fire Elemental control before retiring to bed late that night.

The next day started off exactly the same way and the day after day as well.

He dedicated himself into working mindlessly into comprehending every bit of text on Summoning starting from the history to actually summoning.

It was only on the fourth morning that he finished reading the epic-sized volume.

He immediately shut the Lemegeton and took out two pieces of paper.

“Days of reading, coming down to this,” he said as he carefully scribbled on the two sheets. “Why does it feel like an exam all over again?”

On both sheets of paper, he carefully drew the Planar Core Rune.

The Planar Core Rune was not easy to draw, especially considering the fact that there was a circle as a component to it as well, but Rick drew them on the first attempt without even using a compass!

“Now, the hateful part,” he frowned as he inspected the finished Planar Core Rune on the two sheets.

He took out the carving knife and lightly poked his thumb with it.

“Aah!” he grimaced as blood tricked out.

He smeared a drop of his blood at the centre of the Rune and rubbed off the rest on his shirt before sucking on it to stop the blood flow.

As soon as his blood blotted into the page, the lines connecting of the Rune lit up with a yellow hue before dying out a few seconds later.

Now for the final part, he said standing up.

He walked to the clearing in the room and placed both sheets of paper two feet apart from each other.

“Let’s try with this,” he said picking up a pencil from the desk and placing it on the first sheet.

He kneeled before the second sheet and again pricked his finger and drew out his blood and smeared a drop on the second sheet.

The Planar Core Rune lit up just like it had on the first sheet.

“Okay, here goes nothing,” he said.

Placing his palm over the second sheet he directed his Mana into the Planar Core Rune.

“Ianuae Magicae” he intoned.

 

Zoop

 

He heard a soft whistle and right before his eyes, the pencil disappeared from the first sheet but when he looked at the sheet below his palm, there was only a clump of ash there!

The next moment the second page caught on fire as well.

“Wha-What the hell is going on!” he said in disbelief.