Self-Summon [Demon Summoning/Evolution LitRPG]

[Fake ID: Human | Greginald Penswallow]

Angelica strolled in front of Fioso’s manor under the guise of an old man with a cane and a slight limp. It was rather impressive how well Transfiguration could alter her body to accommodate the disability. Not only had it spawned the wooden cane completely out of the palm of Greginald’s hand, it had genuinely deteriorated the muscles in one leg. Perhaps she was only capable of such alterations now since she’d levelled the Skill quite a bit, and had just never needed them before. Or it could be that Identity Fraud enchanted more than just the fake tag when scried, and also helped her lean into the lie by making it a reality. Why not both?

The limp was real, and took a good moment to get used to, so she wouldn’t blow her cover by suddenly flailing about like an animal walking for the first time. She made sure to stride through the Deterring Field at a slow but consistent pace, not even acknowledging its existence. In one side, out the other, and the fake man kept on walking until he rounded the corner, completely out of sight of any who might be gazing from one of the manor’s windows.

[Masquerading Transfiguration Lv.9]

[Beguilement increased]

[Fraud Attunement increased]

Huh, so she was gaining experience as a human again? Was it just the form of Angelica Hallow that had run dry? Or was it now because she was training it under different conditions, doing more to try to trick any observers? Hard to say, but she wouldn’t complain.

Had her illusion worked? She’d gotten no indicator to the contrary. Suspecting Skin never spiked, nor had she felt any sort of oppression from the Deterring Field. Was that because Gelic was marked as an invited guest, or because plain boring human Greginald wouldn’t trigger the effects since he’d likely have minimal Magic Proficiency? Well, Diamen hadn’t come out to lambast her actions yet, so clearly that meant she needed to keep prodding.

[Fake ID: Cat | Purrfect]

That was what she’d named her kitty form that she used to snuggle with Cherub. Because she was pure perfection. Her golden blonde hair without a strand out of place, just the right level of fluff and an adorable face that was so squishable with also just a hint of smug. Yes, Purrfect would win every cat show, even beating out any cats named after pastries who would arrogantly claim themselves to be of royal heritage.

She’d gotten used to walking around on four legs from the minimal time she actually spent moving instead of catnapping, but it was enough to strut with confidence through the field after waiting a few minutes in a nearby alley. Notably, she did feel a slight twinge from it this time, so apparently her theory about perceived Magical Proficiency was correct.

[Fake ID: Human | Marlorie Quintessence]

This time she was a dolled-up businesswoman in a lavish suit, clicking down the street in heels, desperately trying to look composed and not faceplant. Though, that would be a bit fitting, because Marlorie had a huge scar down her face, something that would appear immediately out of place or require a double-take for any normal person who observed her. It was hard to say how a Demon would react, though.

While waiting for enough time to pass, Angelica had actually pulled out a pocket mirror to make sure the scar was absurdly notable. Before she’d headed out for this venture, she’d only thrown a few items back in Second Stomach, and this was one, assuming she’d need it. But of course, there was no reaction yet again. Was Diamen genuinely not home? She saw lights on in the manor window, but that meant nothing. They were definitely in the category of being so rich they didn’t have to worry about turning off a light as soon as they left a room. Despite being decently well-off growing up herself, it was something her mother had drilled into her, perhaps from her own upbringing.

[Fake ID: Millipede]

Oh Vissiem, what is this?! She’d tried a few different animal forms for her next jaunt that she’d never turned into before. Most were suspiciously off due to low familiarity, but she found that she could become a bug quite easily, probably due to her Puck form. She’d become quite familiar with them against her will. But she didn’t regret it now.

This is so fun, what the heck?! Tip tap, tippity tap. For whatever reason, she found walking so many legs to be absurdly amusing. The novelty would likely wear off soon, especially since she was moving at a pretty slow speed, but for now, she enjoyed the thumping rhythm. She’d wanted to go with a form that wouldn’t have a name to see if it’d cause any sort of reaction. But nothing new there, so it was time to up the stakes even more.

[Fake ID: Human | Alias: Spoke | Summoner Rank: Disciple]

The young man ran through the Deterring Field with purpose, a satchel dangling off his shoulder. He had somewhere to be, something to deliver. And Spoke, an Alias she’d chosen because of a bicycle she saw in a yard, absolutely winced as he pushed through the oppressive aura. But he didn’t let it stop him, trudging through despite the pain, eager to get past it as quickly as possible. Really, still nothing?! Surely the presence of a Summoner would have at least triggered something on Diamen’s end, like when her field had deterred a Demon. Maybe it was just a common enough occurrence that it didn’t require immediate action or investigation.

She wanted to escalate even further by Transfiguring into a different Demon, but found it difficult to do so. The Skill wasn’t really the problem, though perhaps an even higher level would help. Angelica just wasn’t familiar enough with Demons yet. She’d been around them a bit, spent some time in Hell, but they were still quite a foreign subject for her. Part of the problem was how varied they could be.

It felt like she could become anything and pass herself off as a Demon, but at the same time, none of her attempts felt right. Her best result ended up looking more like a Malignant than a Demon in her opinion, but was there enough of a difference? Basically, the only one she was familiar enough with to assume the form of was Gawk. But she’d feel guilty about stealing the identity of her friend. So she chose to pivot to another tactic.

[Fake ID: Rabbit | Hippity Hoppity. I’m all up in your property]

The plan this time was to go with such an absurd name no one, not human or Demon, should believe that it was real. While she looked decently like a rabbit, having been one before for the magic show, she even exaggerated her hops to look more out of place, less like a bunny and more like a frog while she scampered across the road.

[Warning: Your illusion has been shattered]

Ah, finally, results. And they sounded a bit overdramatic. She was still disguised as a rabbit, but it likely meant Diamen’s Detect Falsehoods had seen through her Identity Fraud. Actually, she didn’t know he had the Skill for certain, possibly just a very high Scrying Eye level that had flagged the issue, but it was still good feedback. Yet he still didn’t come out to confront her. Perhaps he just wasn’t in the mood to get involved in her antics since she wasn’t actually intruding on the manor grounds, just the road outside.

Now, though, the tests actually started providing more fruitful results. Angelica mostly went back to human disguises, and maybe about half were hit with that same message. It gave her a good read on what would fly and what wouldn’t, especially because the lurking Demon was undoubtedly paying way more attention now. If she was a basic human with a name that made sense, generally on the more pretentious side since this was that kind of neighborhood, she wouldn’t get pegged.

But if she got silly with it, both the names and features, more often than not, the illusion would break. Actions were apparently an important part too. Another time, she went through as a tabby, but did so walking on just her hind legs. It actually wasn’t that hard, probably because she was used to being bipedal, but she did almost stumble a few times. And despite her perfect appearance and basic name of Socks because of her white paws, her cover was blown. The tests went on for roughly an hour, leading to another level, though this one came from attempting to be a bird again, flying better this time since she was getting used to her own wings.

[Masquerading Transfiguration Lv.10]

[Beguilement increased]

[Fraud Attunement increased]

[Fraud Attunement has improved from Touched to Embraced]

She was fine with it coming to an end, since coming up with pretentious sounding names of those who’d live in or pass through this neighborhood was getting more difficult with each iteration. It was really nice hitting Embraced Fraud Attunement as well, since that cleared the last hurdle she’d need for Detect Falsehoods.

As she jumping-jacked her way through the field as a soldier in bright pink camo, Diamen’s patience broke. “Are you going to keep up your performance all night?” The scaly butler appeared directly in front of her, blocking her path. “It was amusing at first, but now I’m wondering if you’ve genuinely lost your sanity. Did your Lucidity go down somehow, Gelic?”

“Uhh, nope, all good. I was just testing out Identity Fraud.” She revered to her Puck form, which got a bit of a weird glance.

“I can see that…” He continued to stare. “And now I have to wonder if you’re still trying.”

“Nope, this is me now.” She raised her arms, showing off her buggy glory. “Not how I expected it to go. Wasn’t quite sure how the desire part worked, so I missed my chance.”

“Ah.” He nodded, appeased by that explanation. “That can be for the best. I stopped trying to give input when I turned into a Gremlin, and look at me now. I find it better to trust the Natures. They will build you properly if you let them.”

Sounds like he’d bought into the propaganda they’d sold. Perhaps there was truth to it. But Gelic wasn’t really interested in becoming a soldier for some Attunement or another as they’d spouted during the Evolution process.

“It’s good to see that you’re alive,” he mentioned abruptly. “The master will be pleased for reasons I don’t care to understand.”

“Uhh, yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

Diamen smirked. “Well, things went rather tumultuously for you at the Malignant Geyser, did they not?”

“Oh, I guess word gets around fast,” she murmured, unsure how to feel about that.

“Well, I did hear some fluttering rumors,” he stated. “But no, I got the chance to witness your folly first-hand.”

“Wait, you were there?!”

“Yes. Fioso sent me to observe, so that we could monitor the situation and learn who would gain control of the mine. It’s important intel to understand the power balance between the Sects. Imagine my surprise to see you there. I probably wouldn’t have picked you out of the crowd. But I arrived just in time to watch you get swallowed whole. Good thing that Malignant wasn’t big on chewing, eh?” He snickered to himself.

Gelic kind of wanted to raise a stink about how he hadn’t helped her. But she knew she’d just get some jab in return about how that wasn’t his Order.

“I had an Order to take care of the Malignant should the other Summoners fail.” Perhaps he picked up on her annoyance and chose to answer it himself. “But I didn’t need to step in. My master seemed rather pleased when he heard you got the bulk of the credit for the kill. You did well, and were rewarded. From just a glance, I can tell you’re no ordinary Puck.

“Pestilence, right? They did a good job. And assuming your ID Fraud isn’t so potent that I can’t see through it when you’re plainly in front of me, then it would appear you’ve joined a Cult, a good fit for you as you are. Impressive that you were able to join so young. Even I didn’t get to join mine until Hellion.”

Huh, praise she wasn’t expecting, and it prompted her to scry him again.

[Demon | Alias: Diamen | Demon Rank: Daemon Lv.70 / 70 | Cult: Artimae]

Another Cult she’d never heard of, but that wasn’t the interesting part. She couldn’t restrain herself from asking, “How come you haven’t Evolved?”

“Because there is no need,” Diamen answered directly. “My current form is well-suited to my current situation. While I have no doubt my next Evolution would be even grander, it could come with a learning period and prove troublesome. When I part ways with Fioso, however long that may be, then I will Evolve.”

“Uhh, but you could just Transfigure back to your current self if it’s better,” Gelic felt the need to point out.

“Hmph, the past is never better,” he spat, as if his disdain of the idea was ingrained into his very being. “Besides, what a waste of MP that would be, especially to disgrace myself with weakness.”

Oh wow, he really didn’t know then about the Regressor Achievement, and as it had promised, he was stubborn about it. That meant it was her turn to finally teach him something. She quickly read off the specifics. “So yeah, no downsides. I’ve done it a bunch already, and it’s been great.”

“Well… that’s annoying,” the Daemon muttered. “Not the Achievement, but the fact that you knew and I didn’t. Assuming… you aren’t lying to me. I would be willing to test it just to confirm the knowledge you’ve provided, but if this is a falsehood you’re trying to slip by in an attempt for me to embarrass myself, nothing would save you from my Wrath.”

“Yep, I swear!” Gelic reiterated. Since he had Detect Falsehoods, by her understanding, he should have some indication if she was straight up lying to him. And then she stared at him expectantly, waiting to see if he’d actually do it. What would his earlier Evolutions be like? Were they all a similar lizard-like lineage? Was he a cute Imp?

“I’m not going to do it now, if that’s why you’re gawking at me.” He caught on. “I will do it in seclusion in my own time, so that you can’t have the satisfaction.” Spoil sport. But back to more important matters…