Self-Summon [Demon Summoning/Evolution LitRPG]

“Now arriving at your destination.”

[Multi-Bounce Lv.7]

[Competence, Creativity heftily increased]

[Balletic Attunement heftily increased]

[Balletic Attunement has improved from Touched to Embraced]

[Summoner Rank: Initiate Lv.15]

At the crack of dawn, the hospital finally loomed in the distance. Gelic touched down in a nearby alley with a wet thud, having relied on an Order to endure the last stretch. The storm had ended sometime ago, and some air-drying had removed the excess, but all of her hair was still sopping wet. Weathering Resistance appeared to have helped keep her in decent shape overall, and from catching some cold from being out in that nastiness, but it still sucked.

Before she could head into the facility, she needed to get herself composed first, and headed into a nearby fast-food restaurant bathroom. What went in was a soggy puffball that looked like it crawled out of her own tub drain. What came out was a diligent paramedic wearing her Crossroads Medical Transport uniform with a box of heart in hand.

“Great, we’ve been expecting you!” The receptionist welcomed the paramedic with eager eyes, quickly making a phone call as the girl approached. It would seem Grahj’s friend had come through with the fake paperwork, and his wife had managed to set up the surgery, since a nurse came and ran off with it immediately. A minute later, Angelica was left alone with the receptionist who had her sign some paperwork. From all the vain practice she’d done of preparing an autograph, she almost scribed her own name, but managed to switch it up at the last second, scrawling some unreadable scratch.

[Order complete]

[Fraud Attunement notably increased]

Ah was that due to her forging her identity? Yes, that felt appropriate. Both as a paramedic for the deceptive delivery and as the kid to get onto the plane. It was nice to see progress outside of just a Skill level. So the paramedic left out the main door, and then turned around and walked right back in before the automatic doors closed, this time as an invisible Imp. Angelica wanted nothing more than to go back home and crash, but there was still one more business matter at hand. She still had to get paid.

First and foremost, Gelic waddled her way to the cafeteria and snuck a tray away from a cart that was being loaded. She dabbed a finger into each component, sprinkling a little toxic, and about damn near moaned with relief when Poison Eater began to replenish her Health. It had gotten pretty low from the many many collisions and her just sheer exhaustion, down to the thirties. Now she felt a lot better, but still needed some rest.

So she traipsed around the hospital, looking for an open bed. And she just so happened to walk past the room of a young boy who was being prepped for surgery. The kid was still unconscious, and the mother was staring desperately from a corner as her son was being manhandled like a ragdoll. She’d get over it, as long as it meant she got her baby back. Good for them, though. Hopefully there were no further complications, and this would all have a happy ending.

Angelica eventually found her way to a storeroom that had a bunch of mattresses piled up, and that was good enough for her. As she drifted off to sleep, Angelica wondered if her Summoner would even make it anytime soon. Grahj had done some crazy scuff on the plane, so she wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up in custody for a bit while thoroughly questioned. But through their connection, she could tell he was at least headed in her direction. Would still probably be a bit, so it was time for some shut eye.

◆◆◆

“Gelic.” The Imp found herself nudged awake. Grahj loomed over her, a smirk on his face like he’d just found his kid doing something silly. Before she could even rub the sleep out of her eyes, she found herself up and hoisted into a full-body hug.

“Mmf, I take it things went well then,” she yawned after she was put back down.

“Yes, the surgery was a success!” the father reported, beaming from ear to ear, looking on the verge of crying again. “He hasn’t woken up yet, but the new heart is beating strong. Thank you so much. You’ve saved my son, saved my family!”

“Good, good, good. How did you manage to get out of the plane jam?”

“Ah, I ran my mouth as fast as I could,” he seemed ashamed to admit. “With my franticness to get back to my dying son, I accidentally bought a second ticket using his ID. Then when I heard the news about maybe not being able to see him, I took drastic action. Not too far from the truth, so my sincerity seems to have gotten across. Plus, with proof of my son in the hospital, they couldn’t verify he was ever actually on the plane. It was enough to release me and then I got on another plane immediately.

“Of course, if they really dug deep, interviewed staff and passengers, looked at footage, they’d find me with someone who looks just like my son. They said there might be followup questions later if the investigation goes further. I doubt it will, but I’ll deal with the matter if it comes. Now let’s not delay the last necessity. I know why you’re still here. I am in your debt, and you’re waiting to collect.”

“Here, ten thousand in cash as promised.” Grahj dropped a stuffed envelope onto the mattress which Gelic gobbled up immediately. “As for that Essence stuff you talked about. Sorry, I don’t know how to give it to you. I would if I could, and if you let me know, I will, but I can’t just give you what I don’t have.”

Oh yeah. Angelica had honestly forgotten about that part of the deal. “Well why don’t we just forget about—”

[Achievement unlocked: Divine and Dash. Ah, so you’ve had a Summoner refuse payment, have you? Well that won’t do. Appropriate remuneration for our services is the balance that allows Summoners and Demons to co-exist. Without it, the pact will break down until one destroys or enslaves the other. No this won’t do at all. The Contract must be paid, and you will do so with your own hands.]

[Secret Skill: Soul Suck unlocked. The Demon Growth System will lend you its power to extract Essence from an uncooperative Summoner. It will extract as much Essence as it can from their bodies until either appropriate payment has been made or continued use would kill them. This Skill can only be activated when a Summoner has committed a breach of Contract. This Skill does not level. If you share the existence of this Skill, you will be punished]

Without her consent, as if she’d been given a Named Order from the DGS, Gelic found her arm raising toward her master. She could feel what was coming. “Grahj, you might want to sit down!” she urged him, and then she tried to reason with the system. “Hey, he didn’t know. Can’t we just let it slide this once?”

[No. The Contract must be paid]

[Soul Suck activated]

The human’s body immediately tensed as white particles flew out from his chest. They flew straight into the Imp’s hand, absorbed as she’d just killed a Malignant. With each passing second, it looked like Grahj was getting weaker. And when he was just barely holding onto consciousness.

[Gained 301 Essence]

[Contract complete]

Oh wow, the dude had been hogging the stuff it would seem. Apparently, that’s what a lifetime of stagnating mana would create. With all she’d been through, though, it felt like an appropriate reward, not to mention the oodles of cash. Still, she felt bad for her now former Summoner. He looked on the brink of death for real. Good thing they were at a hospital. Still, he managed to struggle to his feet.

“Hey, uhh, want some help?” She hopped off the bed to offer, but there was no response. Grahj didn’t even look at her. She waved, shouted, tried to get his attention, but nothing. At first, Gelic thought it might be a result of the Soul Suck, but then she understood. Their connection was severed.

This human was not a natural Summoner. He likely had no Magical Proficiency whatsoever. Now that the Contract was done, he had no more ties to the supernatural. He would not see Demons again, not see her, and had likely thought that she had vanished now that payment had been issued. It was a bit of a sad way to end their partnership, but probably for the best.

Angelica followed Grahj back to his son’s room where the boy was still asleep. He looked healthier indeed. The man quickly mentioned to his wife that he was exhausted from his trip and slumped down into the closest chair where he began to snore in seconds. Damn, wish I could fall asleep that easily. With that final thought, Angelica returned to her apartment once more.

She planned to take it easy for the rest of the day, maybe faff about on her computer. No matter what, there was no desire to do anything productive. But before anything else, there was one thing a base impulse insisted that she do. Angelica dumped the envelope of money onto her bed and spread out the bills. She then rolled around in it with utter glee, giggling all the while, feeling rich for the first time in her life.

This had brought her total savings to just under $20,000. When she crossed that threshold, she planned to start some light investments, just to get some passive income going. Of course, to even attempt that, she’d have to get it all into something usable. The currency was not the one Palamyth used, so she’d have to let her new fancy secret bank take care of it for her. Actually, with the current exchange rate, she might even get just a bit more.

Angelica’s goals were coming along nicely. Though there was one thing about her most recent mission that left her with a huge unanswered question, something she’d forgotten about until just now. She opened her mouth and let her Skill plop some of Second Stomach’s contents into her hand, then placed it down onto her desk with a hearty thump. As she stared at the gun that had never been returned, she couldn’t help but wonder, just what the heck am I going to do with this?!

Spoiler