Self-Summon [Demon Summoning/Evolution LitRPG]

As soon as Gelic landed in her apartment, she hopped onto her bed, turned into a Puffball Imp, and opened her big mouth wide. Out came a barrage of miscellaneous nicknacks tailored to help her out in a variety of situations, from the sleeping bag she still had yet to use, to the books she’d gotten from Adora for light reading, along with basically all of her various art supplies in case there was ever an emergency that needed something drawn stat. Pretty much all she kept inside was her Demon Summoning Book, the still unsold Quillaced Tiara, and the gun she’d honestly almost forgotten was in there if the Skill didn’t remind her.

Annoyingly, she’d have to stuff it all back in later, since she wouldn’t be able to sleep otherwise. But her bed was the only space she could deposit it all while keeping everything together. Though, Cherub may get bored and knock some stuff on the floor that she’d have to find later, unable to resist the catty urge. She didn’t want to, but she also upchucked her various chunks of Runestone, not knowing if they emitted any sort of energy that could be detected.

With her stomach empty, she once more bolted out of her front door and got to bouncing out of the city, about damn near crashing into the shack containing the fairy circle. She was in the terminal nexus barely long enough to blink before vanishing again, popping up in Suciraga a second later. Then another barrage of bounces, having to be a lot more careful this time, zooming through the crowded air space even faster than the multitude of frequent flyer Demons. She landed at Laced, shifted back to her Puck form in front of the host who shot her a very confused look, then zoomed over to her spot at the counter as if she’d never left, though now trying to hide her panting breath from going so fast. Gelic had literally gone to Hell and back—well, the opposite—in under five minutes.

[Contract complete]

[Summoner Rank: Novice Lv.7]

Okay, maybe she had used an Order to assist with the actual actions. Without having to think about what she needed to do, with her body guiding itself, the trip had gone a lot smoother, especially because she wouldn’t have made it back to the restaurant as fast as she had if she had to manually map it instead of letting her subconscious take the lead. She’d been hoping for Essence tip to proc for it too, since she was definitely close to the next level. Oh well, she’d just have to keep grinding it. Sadly, now that she thought about it, the Skill wouldn’t work on Pacts, since it specifically mentioned Summoners and Orders. Hmm, unless there was an Affix that altered it. Oh, and it had worked on an Achievement before. But for now, she probably wouldn’t be scamming Ba Skin for extra pay.

“I remember when I used to run myself ragged like that.” She hadn’t been looking into the kitchen, scanning around for Gawk instead to ensure they exchanged glances to signify her return. So Gelic hadn’t been expected for someone at her back to suddenly start speaking to her. She whirled to find Chef Succor leaning against the counter, taking a break while sipping from a cup. “Care for a drink?”

“Uhh, sure.” Well, since he was offering. And frankly, she was parched after the gauntlet she’d just ran, err, bounced. Maybe it’d be worthwhile to try to make a higher level of Hydration. Sadly, Rune Absorber was probably still a while away in her priorities, but it’d be nice to be able to improve on the few she had.

“Poisoned or non-poisoned?” He asked, gesturing toward two pitchers, of which he already started reaching for one that was a much clearer color than the other, apparently anticipating her answer.

“Poisoned!” She answered eagerly, causing him to flinch and switch targets.

“Ah, very good.” His mouth couldn’t really twist much, but Gelic thought she saw it curl to something akin to a smile. “Just to check, you do have Poison Eater, yes?” He got a nod in return. “Good. I don’t need someone reporting me for killing my customers after all this time. You know, I originally used to only serve poisoned dishes, back when Laced was nothing more than a stall, but, of course, that excluded a lot of the populace.”

He placed the filled cup down in front of her and retracted his tentacle. She took a sip with her long nose and just about squealed in delight, feeling relaxed, her anxiousness from her actions and the situation dwindling. It was different to Toxic, not really healing her Health, but her mind.

“So for a time, I’d actually offer Poison Eater Runes to any diner, but they kept getting stolen. Nearly drove me out of business. So I had to adjust, offering less and less poisoned dishes for widespread appeal. Of course, there are minor poisons that are offered to everyone, which apply status effects like Numbing and Intoxication, but it means my specialties go under appreciated. I’d be lucky if I even get to use Poison Chef five percent of the time these days.”

“Oh, you can turn it off?!” Gelic’s non-existent ears perked up at that. “I have the Skill too, but I’m so worried about accidentally making something poisoned for others.”

“Ehh… no…” Succor dashed her hopes. “But with enough levels, I think it was around Lv.20 or so, you start being able to control the potency. It doesn’t let you reduce it to nothing, but you can make it minimal. Technically all my dishes are poisoned, but for the basic ones that don’t require Poison Eater, I use a neurotoxin on a very reduced level, so that it only applies a bit of spicy heat, similar to the peppers in human worlds, if you know what those are. Tried growing some here, didn’t go well.”

“Oh wow, I didn’t know you could do that kind of stuff with it.” She was intrigued beyond belief.

“Yes, Poison Chef is actually a rather remarkable Skill,” he preached while scratching his brain. “But only if you put in the effort. Many avoid it, because it can be troublesome otherwise. As it sounds like it is for you. Consider improving it, especially since you can eat them already. Once you max out the percentage of application so that it always triggers, you start being able to mix poisons, creating flavors and effects that none have ever seen before. That is why Laced is so popular. Here, let me show you. Break is almost over. I’ll cook something.”

“Erm, I appreciate the offer, but I’m not sure if I can afford it…” It felt bad to reject, but since she was so close to her GP goal, she didn’t want a setback, especially if she ended up not joining the Cult.

“Feh, don’t worry. On the house. Maybe it will inspire you to train the Skill and then you come cook with me one day, ehe. Plus, I hear you doing work for Zebub. Good Cult. They like my food, keep trouble out of my restaurant, and help me get rarer ingredients, like human peppers. Wait there a moment. They’re working on finishing up the last of your order, but I will have this done first with time to enjoy.”

Succor got back to his cooktop, and his tentacles flung around in a flurry. They were moving so fast, that it was hard to even keep up with what he was doing. At one point, it looked like he was cutting some kind of noodle, which looked to be the base of the dish. And she was right, besides some sauce added during the cooking stage, there wasn’t really anything else, but that appeared to be on purpose. Gelic remembered she was currently in her Puck form and would struggle to eat most things, so he must have taken that into account.

That was evident when she received the dish. Each noodle had been cut so that she could consume it with her proboscis easily. What was still a bit off-putting, however, was the color. They were practically glowing, as if they were radioactive. But scuff it. They smelled delicious. “Oh Vis- Ferrul, so good!” It was so amazing that she almost slipped on whose name to take in vain. The slimy sauce made it so easy for her to eat, even better than the Soul Soup she’d tried. And damn, the flavors, the poisons, it all gelled so well. Not only that, but if she tried to eat it as an Imp, the textures would be lost on her big mouth. It was truly tailored to her current form.

[Poison Eater Lv.4]

[Poison Eater Lv.5]

The levels just kept coming as she slurped the food down greedily.

[Poison Eater Lv.8]

[Vigor notably increased]

[Pestilence Attunement increased]

After finishing the bowl, she felt amazing. All of her fatigue was gone, and despite suddenly feeling full despite having not eaten much, her body felt lighter. Just what sort of concoction had he laced the food with?

“That was a specialty blend,” Succor boasted as if he could read her mind. “For a hard working Demon like yourself. If you did not have Poison Eater, you’d currently be on the verge of passing out, with all your muscles aching, while also feeling both bloated and starving at the same time. Feel free to save your praises. Your eyes say it all.”

Damn, it must have been so good that her glowing eyes were erratic. Kind of sucked to have her own expressions betray her like that, but at least he appreciated them. And he was right, it did motivate her. She’d basically been ignoring Poison Chef, since Toxic Imbuement was a lot more effective just for healing. But if she could make stuff like this, to boost her body and cure all other ailments, it’d be worth the effort. That did make her wonder, though, just how many types of poison he had. If she was a soldier of Pestilence, he must be a commander.

“Takeout order for Ba Skin is ready.” Before she could ask about any such things, one of the other staff called out, and Gawk flapped over, so it’d be rude to delay any longer. She went ahead and turned back into an Imp and began shoving the containers of food into her mouth one at a time as they were presented. Even Chef Succor shot her a look after that before returning to his work, but she didn’t want to waste the MP on the constant transfers when gobbling them down was free.

When it came to the last crate, which was containers of drinks, she could feel the walls of Second Stomach stretching to their limit. Sadly, since she’d just gotten a level, it’d waste too much time trying to get another, so she forced it all down, grateful for the lightening effect of the food she’d just eaten. Because otherwise, she might have vomited. How would that work from the void-like dimension where all the items were stored? A question better left unanswered.

“Okay,” Gelic patted her tummy before turning back into a bug. “Let’s head out.” The next leg of their trip didn’t take long either. There weren’t exactly signs saying “Morgo Gorgo’s manor, this way,” but with how proficiently Gawk led them, it was like he’d been there plenty of times. The little dude must have gotten some good intel, because they were at the archway leading from the city into a separate area within minutes.

From what she could see of the manor in the distance, it was an ill-fitting description. By the size and just grand architecture, it was more like a citadel. One that looked… suspiciously unguarded, like anyone could just waltz right up to the front door. All that laid between them was a wide open cavern, with another archway on the other end. It was almost like an open glade, with a few mushrooms on the ground, growing out of the stone.

Plenty of room for activities, or drills, or whatever the Cult did. But again, the fact that no one or nothing was occupying it was all the more worrying. With the grandeur of the building, it felt like there should at least be some statues, or poisoned water features, maybe a nice bench for the Cult members to relax and enjoy their lunch in peace. She scried it, divined it, purposefully tried to let Suspecting Skin get wigged out, but there was nothing.

“C’mon Gelic, what are we waiting for?” Gawk shared absolutely none of her reservations and began flapping forward. “We’ll impress them by how fast we were and—” As soon as he crossed into the threshold, the whole atmosphere of the cavern shifted, and it became more like a grotto than a glade, or even more accurately, a forest of fungi.

Countless mushrooms shot out of the ground, growing instantly, with some even reaching as high as the ceiling. Their placement wasn’t random either, and their stalks became thick walls, quickly dividing up the space. Frits! Some of them grew right in front of her, blocking off Gawk from the exit and from her. But she wasn’t shut out entirely. Off to the side of the archway, there was still an opening for her to foolishly delve into the maze that had appeared. And she did so without a second thought. “Hold on, Gawk, I’m coming!”

And within a few feet, after she rounded the first corner, her body shuddered and she heard shambling that definitely didn’t belong to her friend.

[Suspecting Skin Lv.5]

They weren’t alone in here.