The Golden-Haired Summoner - Ch. 8

“Just a beaker’s worth… Let’s trade it for my yellow frill ribbon. How about that? You liked it, didn’t you?”

“Oh, really? Didn’t you get that as a birthday present?”

“My brothers gave it to me, so who cares? Besides, don’t you think giving me something in yellow—my least favorite color—was their way of saying I should use it for something else?”

“Uh… but with just one beaker, I could run three experiments. What do you need so much for?”

A single beaker of mana concentrate was worth enough to live off of for several months.

“I’ve got a use for it. And if you throw in some fairy dust, I’ll give you my pink apron with the ribbon. I’ve only worn it twice. How about it?”

“Fairy dust? Hmm… I do have some I’m not using, but…”

Mia, deep in thought, rested her chin on her hand with a serious expression. I gritted my teeth silently at her.

She might look easy to deal with, but she’s a master negotiator.

“Alright! Fine. I’ll throw in a box of candy—still sealed. How about that? If you still say no, I’ll just ask Iruze. I bet he’ll say yes.”

“Ah! Not Iruze! Don’t hang out with Iruze!”

“So, will you trade?”

“Fine, but you ‘must’ give me the ribbon, apron, and the candy box, okay?”

“Deal. Hand it over now.”

Like I was making a shady deal, I quickly glanced around and motioned for her to hurry.

After making her promise multiple times that I’d deliver the items, Mia reluctantly handed over the ingredients, and I hooked my pinky with hers to seal the deal.

With everything now in my hands, I couldn’t help but let out a satisfied laugh—a bit mischievously, I’ll admit.

“Hehehe.”

Tonight, history will be made.

With everything I needed within reach, I couldn’t back down.

These valuable materials were easy to snag from my friend.

I turned toward my next target.

Here’s the plan:

I’m going to become a Spirit Summoner and enjoy a life of leisure as soon as possible!

—

Late at night, when everyone was fast asleep, I quietly climbed out of bed.

My private room was a small, sparsely furnished space, but it was perfect for me.

After curfew, I couldn’t leave the dormitory, so this was the only place where I could pull off my plan.

I lit a candle to brighten the room and rolled up the carpet in the center of the floor, propping it against the corner. Once I was done, I’d cover the floor back up with it.

In other words, I was about to engrave a spirit contract circle onto the floor of my dorm room.

“Everything is perfect.”

I was going to form a contract with a spirit on my own.

This was the true mark of a genius, wasn’t it?

Ignoring—no, outpacing my teacher’s lessons to carve my own path!

I was going to walk my own way!

Master Yael would undoubtedly be furious if he found out, but he had driven me to this point.

There were two scenarios where he wouldn’t be able to scold me:

First, if I pulled off the perfect crime and secretly attempted to form a spirit contract without anyone knowing, even if I failed.

Second, if I actually succeeded in forming a contract with a spirit. In that case, he’d have no choice but to praise my genius rather than reprimand me.

I decided to try the old-fashioned method of spirit summoning.

It was the only method available in the books I had access to, an ancient and outdated technique—a relic of a bygone era.

Master Yael must have anticipated my impulsive nature and suspected something like this might happen.

Like keeping dangerous items out of a child’s reach, he hadn’t left any modern summoning scrolls where I could find them.

He probably thought I’d get frustrated and try something on my own.

“You know me too well. And yes, I really am doing it.”

Old-fashioned or modern—it didn’t matter.

I just wanted to prove that I could form a spirit contract.

To prove that I could do it.

With a resolute nod, I reached under my pillow and pulled out the enchanted carving knife I had borrowed earlier.

It was essential for engraving a contract circle onto the stone floor. True to its name, the knife was enchanted to cut through even the hardest materials as easily as slicing tofu.

I had discreetly borrowed it from a classmate in the Magic Class who specialized in studying magic circles.

Since they were absent today, I hadn’t had the chance to ask permission, but I figured I could do that later. After all, I’d return it eventually.

To ease my conscience, I had left a note behind.

—

“Borrowed it.”

—

Come to think of it, I hadn’t written my name on the note. Oh well.

The next step was the contract circle.

I unfolded a sheet of paper on which I had traced an ancient spirit summoning circle.

While my drawing skills weren’t great, even a preschooler could trace something accurately using parchment paper.

I lit the chandelier above me and hung the traced paper below it, adjusting it so that the circle’s shadow was projected onto the floor at just the right size.

The most important part was ensuring the circle was large enough. If it was too small, the mana flow would be insufficient, and the magic wouldn’t activate. Bigger was better.

Though it was a very old-fashioned method, it was simple and reliable.

“Perfect. I really am a genius.”

A genius of improvisation.

This much was easy.

I meticulously traced the shadow of the summoning circle onto the floor with chalk.

Even a single missed mark would prevent the magic from activating, so I poured all my concentration into the task.

I even had to breathe carefully, as a deep breath could make the candlelight flicker and distort the shadow.

This required extreme precision. It had been a while since I’d shown this level of dedication—about five minutes.

—

“I can’t do this!”

I threw the chalk at the wall in frustration after those five minutes. I picked it up again and crouched back down to finish tracing the circle…

Magic circles were truly a maze of intricate designs.

Letters within circles, circles within letters, curves, and patterns—it was chaos disguised as artful precision.

“This is exactly why I don’t want to be a mage. How could anyone do this for a living?”

I was incredibly impatient and hot-tempered.

This kind of delicate, spirit-related work didn’t suit me at all. After resisting the urge to quit dozens of times, I finally managed to finish the summoning circle.

Well, at least the base sketch part.

Now, I had to carve the design into the stone floor using the enchanted carving knife.

I was already dreading the task, but having come this far, I couldn’t let my effort go to waste, and my pride wouldn’t allow me to give up.

More than anything, I had an overwhelming desire to surpass my teacher and free myself from his lessons as soon as possible.

Sometimes, even I was amazed by my passion for freedom.

—

I don’t know how long I crouched there, carving into the floor. My legs were numb, and sweat formed on my forehead.

As I carefully etched each letter with precise angles, I began to feel like an artisan.

Should I have been a sculptor instead of a Spirit Summoner? Not that I was an official Spirit Summoner yet, since I hadn’t formed a contract with a spirit.

Now I understood why this summoning method had fallen out of favor—it was exhausting work.

Afraid I might accidentally stray from the sketch, I lay flat on the floor to focus entirely on the engraving. Not because I was too tired to sit up, of course.

How much time had passed?

Judging by my growling stomach, it must have been a few hours.

“Done!”

I hastily celebrated with a small cheer and retrieved the mana concentrate Mia had given me.

Carefully, I poured it into the engraved grooves. My lips twitched into a grin as the green liquid filled the channels of the summoning circle.

Some of it got on my finger, and I debated whether to wipe it on my clothes… or maybe drink it, thinking it might increase my mana. But I didn’t want to risk dying prematurely, so I spared my body and let my skin absorb it instead.

The mana concentrate was an unsettling green color—not something I wanted to taste.

As the dark green liquid spread across the carved circle, it revealed the full design. After double-checking for errors, I sprinkled the fairy dust over the circle, scattering it carefully.

The golden fairy dust sparkled as it floated around the room, creating a beautiful sight.

The mana concentrate, now forming the summoning circle, reacted immediately to the fairy dust, emitting a bright light.

The glow was as intense as dozens of candles combined, signaling that the summoning circle was correctly drawn. Everything matched what I had studied.

Now, if the summoning succeeded, a spirit would appear. If it failed, nothing would happen, and that would be the end of it.

If nothing appeared, it would be embarrassing, so I resolved to keep this attempt a secret and take it to my grave.

After considering the possibility of failure, I mentally prepared myself and recited the summoning chant I had prepared in advance.

The chant was somewhat long, so I took a deep breath to steady myself.

“Wkdusdml wjddldu, tptkd ahems rjtdml wjddldu, durl rm fuddmf qnffjsorhwk gksek, skdhk rPdirdmf aowdj dudghsdml dkvskfdmf gkaRpgkf wjdfuddldu, so qnfmadp ekqgkdu sk rmeodml wndlsdl ehlfusl rmeo skdml whddl ehldjfk.”

It was a very ancient language.

Since I didn’t know most of the words, I simply pronounced them as they were written. Occasionally, I recognized a few words here and there.

It seemed that my studies with Master Yael hadn’t been entirely useless after all.

My voice, quietly murmuring the chant, echoed softly throughout the room.