Chương 98: [2.24] Dependency Deficiency (Part 2/2)

Huh, interesting, Gelic glanced around at the latest location she'd been summoned to. Usually, it was a study of a Summoner manor, or a fancy apartment like in Lixxy's case. But this time, she was outside, mostly. It was like a small stadium, not much bigger than a school would typically have, but definitely fancier. [You have been Bound. Contract type: Appeasement. Time Limit: Three Days] Oh, the circle she was trapped in was actually a pretty detailed one.

It was drawn in athletic field marker, the chalky stuff, at one end of a standard sports field. Down at the other end was assumedly her master, a young man who frankly looked far too scrawny to be playing in a stadium like this. Wait, why did she feel weird all of a sudden? Suspecting Skin was triggering? She was just about to scry her master when he suddenly shouted, "Stand there and take these attacks!"

[Order forcibly accepted | Current Order: Be a good little practice dummy | Reward: None] Had he seriously just used Command on her right out the gate?! No negotiation, no incentive, just enslavement. Mother scuffer!

"I want to see how effective they are. Don't die yet. There's plenty more to test!" He whipped out a wand and waved it around like a conductor's baton. Three sparks of light twinkled out of the pointy end and began flying toward Gelic. Each was a different color, and the closer they got, the more they looked to be made of individual elements. One was obviously fire, another ice, and the third, a sort of crackly yellow surrounded by purple, electricity or lightning?

Thankfully it wasn't moving at the speed of light or she would have been screwed. That must be some fancy wand if it had that many Runes inside of it, or perhaps it was some sort of trifold elemental Skill. That would explain why they were all the same shape and moving identically. If only she could get her grubby mitts on it and study the stick. But alas, she wasn't going to hang around, refusing to get hit by any of it. Gelic mentally prepared a Return to dodge the attacks by nopeing the hell out of there once.

But first, she hung around for just a second longer. [Alias: Utwo] That was all she risked to read before vanishing from her circle, popping back to the safety of her apartment. Immediately, she was hit with the throbbing anguish of Order Obligation, a really bad case of it too, since she was refusing to obey the Order by a significant magnitude. Not only had she not stayed at the spot like she was told, she'd absconded to somewhere very far away to avoid the attacks. [Order Resistance Lv. 8] [Obstinance increased] That definitely helped, though, for just a moment, and it was quickly trickling up to another level which she kind of wanted to ride out, but the exponential pain was going to become too much at any moment. She needed to get free of the bastard's hold before he had the wherewithal to cast Return on her as well.

Not that she couldn't just cast it again herself, and would win that battle since it was free for her, but she wanted to get out from under such a psychopath's thumb as quickly as possible? [Would you like to reject the Order? Chance: 84% | Cost: 12 MP] Yes, she really did, especially with those good odds, but first, she wanted to check something else. [Would you like to break the bind? Chance: 83% | Cost: 16 MP] Hmm, similar odds. Likely because they were both bad deals.

Forced to submit to Utwo's will for functionally no reward. This was definitely the dark side of summoning that she'd been fortunate enough to avoid for the most part. At the very least, there was a three day time limit, so even if it wasn't easy enough for her to break away, she wouldn't be tormented by him forever, assuming she lived that long. That definitely wasn't the case for those who were Bound into long-term servitude. [Rejection Successful. Contract Terminated] She chose to go with the Order first, even though it was wholly unnecessary, just because that'd get her some experience for the Skill, which wasn't the easiest to train. But while she wasn't currently under any of her master's influence, she was still tethered to him, and that had to be severed. Though, there was an intrusive malicious thought that kind of wanted him to call her back first, so she could have her revenge for the attempt to harm her. But no, that would have to wait.

And he was definitely going on her frits list of Summoners she needed to get back at someday, along with Lustre. Not the lifeplan, because she didn't want to be actively plotting toward it, yet should they cross paths again… [Bind Broken] [Bind Break Lv. 3] [Obstinance notably increased] [Obstinance has improved from Patsy to Wishy-Washy] Honestly, the past two botched summonings were actually great Skill and Obstinance training, so it was hard to call them total failures.

On another day, she'd be happy to keep doing them, especially if it wasted the time and mana of scumbags. It could maybe save her someday in a dire situation. Right now, though, she needed Essence, which broken Contracts failed to provide. Okay, Divining Ear, I get that I wasn't as specific for the last one, but please don't accept any calls from anyone who actively intends to harm me or has other intentionally malicious ideas.

I wish I could say wouldn't try to bind me too, but that'd exclude basically all of them. And just assume this going forward from now on unless I specify otherwise, okay?! [Conditionally accepted. Your request will be fulfilled to the potential of your Divining Ear level and your Lucidity] Well, that was fair, and better than nothing. It meant that any high-ranking Summoners who she couldn't really inquire about anyway could still get away with planning to treat her terribly.

But she was doing her best to avoid working with them regardless, since Rank seemed to at least be a constant thing she could Divine unless they were super-high, like High Summoner high, in which case that was a red flag all on its own. At the very least, this would hopefully keep her away from entitled Summoner brats who viewed Demons as nothing more than disposable subjects for their amusement or schemes. Once more, she submitted the same general request for a call.

Angelica still wanted to feel useful and earn Essence by genuinely helping someone, but damn it had to be reasonable!

"Accept my call, Demon!" [Summoner Rank: Novice | Request Nature: Search] Well, the words weren't as friendly as they could be, but she'd almost certainly be safe with a Novice, and she'd done search-requests a few times now. As long as they weren't digging through a landfill like with Revice—another Summoner she despised, but not enough to put on her revenge list—it should be fine. The nice thing about Orders was they tapped into the Summoner's subconscious to an extent.

So if they had a vague idea where something was, even if it was just the time it was lost, that really helped narrow things down and pointed the Demon in the right direction. So Angelica accepted the call. Unexpectedly, against the norm, there were two women waiting for her. The first was a young face staring at her, tense in their body and eyes, almost certainly Gelic's Novice master. Off to the side, the other woman was much older, likely her instructor.

It could very well be that this was some practice run to serve as a lesson for the budding Summoner, and as a Puck, she was a good fit. Yes, this could be a good experience all around. Not to toot her own horns—antannea, really—she fancied herself as quite beginner friendly, as a former human herself, she understood them more than a fledgling Demon would. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. [Bind resisted] [Bind Resistance Lv. 4] [Obstinance increased] Yeah, that was pretty much expected. With the buff she got from her Soulbound Secret, there was virtually no chance that this newbie was gonna manage to bind her. Since their master was there, hopefully they wouldn't try anything rash like spouting a Command. And in an attempt to come off as non-threatening and open to proper negotiation, the Demon attempted to introduce herself.

"Hi there. I'm Gelic. It's-" Apparently her friendliness just shook the Novice even more, her summoning likely not going as expected. She raised her hand toward Gelic, eyes wide and frantic.

"Banish!"

"-nice to meet you." Gelic found herself speaking to Cherub, who was laying on her bed, and his eyes widened to her sudden appearance. He should be plenty used to her bug form by now, but perhaps the spontaneity and her cheerful words, his hunting, playful side activated, and he pounced at her. Well, that allowed for a few minutes of fun to follow at least. She used one of her wings as basically a string for him to chase until he got tired and flopped over.

Angelica turned human, picked him up, and fed him a licky treat while forcing him to snuggle in her lap as they sat together in her desk chair. Ah, that soothed her greatly. Why did other Imps get all the fun and get to have animal masters? She had maxed Tongues, so she should be able to communicate with anything sentient, right? Maybe there were other smart animals out there besides at that place. It intrigued her, but at the same time, she was unsure she wanted to risk it.

What if animal masters were even crueler or more demanding, only knowing their basic instincts to go off of? That would break her heart, something her mental health couldn't currently take. However, that didn't rule out animal-related Contracts entirely. Okay, let's stick with helping people and my other caveats, but see if you can find some where they need help with animal related problems.

"Need a Demon to exercise my dog." Oh! That could be great! Bit weird that they wouldn't just hire a dog walker to take care of it. Unless… their dog was so big and vicious that a normal human couldn't handle them, named something like Bruiser or Tank Crusher. Okay, no one probably named their dog the latter, but it could be a nickname! In which case, yeah, it'd make more sense for a sturdy Demon to take care of the matter. Unless by "exercise" they meant "get chased by."

With her recent batch of unreasonable requests, she could imagine her running around in her Puffball self, getting chased by the big snarling beast desperate to catch the ball. Yet, that didn't completely rule it out for her. It could be fun even, as long as they weren't strong enough to do her real harm. Oh, and then there was the other possible understanding of "exorcise" as in, their dog had been possessed and needed the power of Vissiem to banish the Demon that had taken over the dog's body.

It was hard to say for certain what the spelling was since it was a verbal request. Could Demon's possess things like in the horror stories, or was that more of a ghost thing? She was getting off track, and either way, it'd be better to call a priest than a Demon consultant. [Summoner Rank: Apprentice | Request Nature: Chore] Hmm, it really did seem like dog-walking was the intent then. Still, an Apprentice, that was higher than what she was usually comfortable than taking.

Though, she was a Puck now, and had just gotten a bunch of improvements that'd reduce the odds of her being forced into slavery. And… she kind of wanted to see the dog. Maybe give them a few pets before making up her mind. So Cherub was plopped back onto Angelica's bed, and she went bug-mode once again. [Bind Resisted] [Obstinance increased] Nice. Though by the circle, it was a very run-of-the-mill one, and she was starting to recognize the sigils.

While not completely sure without comparing it to her special book, her educated guess was that it forged an Order Exhaust Contract with… I think that's just one? She looked at the spot where the quantity sigil should go, and it was just a single line, but she hadn't learned her magical numbers yet. That meant it really was just a Summons for this one task and nothing more. Maybe if it went well, she could offer her recurring services as a dog walker.

She found herself in another nice apartment, but a more standard one this time, with the circle actually drawn onto an animal pee pad, so as to not damage the floor. And her Summoner, well, was he a Summoner? He had to be because he had summoned her after all, but he looked more like a regular businessman, dressed up in an uncomfortable suit and everything, and a rather tired looking one at that. He'd probably just gotten off work and was too exhausted to walk his dog.

[Alias: Abstainer #1, 487] Huh, that was a weird as heck one. And Abstainer continued to, well, abstain pretty much. He just stared at her wordlessly, as if he couldn't be bothered to speak. Maybe he was just waiting to see what would happen since the Bind had failed. So once again, she took the initiative.

"So you want me to exercise your dog, right?" The man nodded, pointing over to a dog who was barred in another room by a fence, excited that his owner had come home, but hadn't been let out yet. And the good boy was not what Gelic had been expecting, basically just a standard medium-sized mutt that she couldn't begin to guess his breed. Definitely not something a Demon would be needed to control. [Dog | Buddy] Even his name was about as basic as they came.

"I want you to exercise his glands," the Summoner expounded upon his request. Nice of him to finally clarify. But wait… glands? Like… the glands that were in that very private, very invasive part of the body? She hadn't heard of any other dog glands that needed exercising. That typically wasn't the word used either. While technically not wrong, maybe Tongues was feeling lazy, or the man was. That or he was purposefully obfuscating with his request to make it not sound as bad as it was.

"Hell no!" Gelic outright refused vehemently. If Buddy was her own dog, she'd do it without a moment's hesitation, anything for her fur baby. And it pissed her off that this man wouldn't take the same responsibility, even if he was burned out. That was just part of the responsibility of pet ownership. And besides, just look at her! What the heck was she supposed to do with her claws?! Yes, she could Transfigure, but he didn't know that!

"Do it yourself or take him to a vet! You—" Angelica forced herself to Return before she let her mouth run wild. Ugh, why had today in particular been so terrible for summons? She'd made no progress, no Essence, just frustration. Alright, I'll give it one more before I give up for the day. Another animal-related one please. Preferably not one that's just neglect from their owner.

"I'll pay you well to clear out some pests." Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. She didn't even bother to divine what rank they were, because she wasn't going to accept it. Depending on the work, she may not mind it, but she really didn't want to hurt animals. Yes, she'd dealt with some mice in her time, swatted plenty of bugs, but signing up to do it, especially without knowing the full details, felt like it would just end poorly. And she was something of a pest herself now, so it felt even more wrong. Plus…

just hire an exterminator! Angelica was getting pre-mad, even if it was something perfectly acceptable. But what was with Summoners and hiring Demons for work that already existed as human jobs? Paying someone with money had to be easier than paying Demons with Essence, right? Especially since every Summoner she'd met besides herself had been living decently to some degree.

Maybe that was the problem, maybe they saw themselves as so removed from regular society, that the thought of mingling with them instead of invoking their will onto Demons had become a foreign concept. Was the uppitiness of Summoners a universal thing, or were they like this on every planet? Well… that was something she could check, couldn't she? Let's try something off-world, Divining Ear. Find me a nice, kind-hearted Summoner who isn't just being lazy. That's… that's what I need right now.

Seriously, I don't even care about what the work is anymore. I just want to restore my faith in humanity a little. H-huh? This time, she did not hear words. It was closer to sounds, but that still felt like the wrong way to describe it. She was overcome with emotion, the tingling feelings that those sounds would install; the jingle of chimes, a bubbling kettle, the warmth of a fire. It felt so cozy, so warm and inviting. Wherever it was, Angelica desperately wanted to go there.

[Summoner Rank: Initiate | Request Nature: Unavailable] [Note: This Summoner will make no attempt to bind you. If you attempt to harm them, you will be punished severely and immediately] Woah, now this was obscure indeed. Part of her felt like she should be wary, but the promise of no binding, and that feeling she couldn't shake. Take me there! Immediately, she was hit with a sense of wonderment. Had Angelica been transported to one of her dreams? She found herself in a rustic cottage.

By the door, the chimes she had heard, over in the kitchen, the crackle of the fire on the floor. Could it be?! On top of that fire was a bubbling cauldron, what she'd mistaken for the kettle. All around, there were planters growing obscure and fantastical plants. The big hat hanging on a hook, and the old woman in a stylish flowing robe scanning through tomes on a bookshelf. Yes, she could only be one thing: a witch!