Heroine Creation: All My Summons Are Custom Made-Chapter 56: Call Your Summons

Professor Chance turned his back to Lancet and strode down into the center of the battle floor. His footsteps echoed sharply against the stone tiles until he came to a halt precisely between the two duelists.

He looked to his left at Min Tu, then to his right at Dane.

"Call your Summons," Chance commanded.

On the left, Min Tu Akaran let out a long, exhausted sigh. As always, the girl looked like she hadn’t slept in a week, heavy dark shadows hanging deep under her eyes.

Her thick, dark hair was unkempt, sticking out in wild tufts. She wore her Academy uniform with a ragged, tomboyish disregard for the rules. Her tie hung loose, her shirt was half-untucked, and her blazer looked like it had been slept in.

But the moment the Necromancer raised her pale hand, the lazy demeanor was gone in a distance, and then came the dark aura of her power.

Black, viscous energy pooled onto the stone floor, bubbling like boiling tar. From the center of the dark mass, a skeletal hand gripped the edge of the physical world and pulled itself up.

The skeleton was almost eight feet tall when it stood straight. It wasn’t like any ordinary skeleton, obviously.

Ordinary skeletons didn’t wear A-Grade Awakener armor, or hold giant magic staff-spears that looked like it controlled the element of doom itself.

"Woah," a collective gasp rippled through the observing students.

On the other end of the floor stood Dane Beardclaw.

Regardless of his size, Lancet had always thought that Dane was a pretty neat guy. Even with all the heavy muscles and broad-shoulders, he had a soft, remarkably innocent face.

With his short blonde hair and bright eyes, he looked like the kind of gentle giant who would apologize to a piece of furniture if he bumped into it.

The Beast Tamer slapped his large palms together. A rift of starry, deep blue Grace tore open in the air in front of him.

With a low, rumbling growl, his beast, an Astral-Claw Ursine, stepped through.

The creature looked like a bear but its fur shimmered like a midnight galaxy. It had forelegs that were heavily muscled and ended in shiny razor-sharp claws.

Those didn’t look like any ordinary razor-sharp claws either. They were exhuming this smoking purple color like volatile spatial energy. And its tail looked like a comet.

"Woah, it’s grown!" a student from the front row shouted.

Kasto tapped his lap like an excited kid. "Isn’t this cool?" he whispered to Lancet. "Technically, if we’re not counting you because of your legend summon, Min Tu is the most powerful Summoner of our year."

Lancet looked at him.

"She’s ranked with a Brilliant Talent, and Dane is right after her." Kasto pointed eagerly at the armored undead. "Isn’t that her undead soldier that has the abilities of a Knight, an Archer, a Berserker, and a Fire Mage? All because she resurrected it in a mass grave where those specific Awakeners died together."

He shifted his finger to the giant, starry bear. "And Dane’s Astral-Claw Ursine! It has spatial tearing properties. It can teleport and break almost any physical defense. Dane says it can teleport other things too, creating portals anywhere on the battlefield."

He did a happy dance. "This Duel is going to be awesome!"

Lancet looked away from his hyperactive friend, watching the floor with newfound intrigue. "You’re actually right."

Professor Chance walked briskly away from the center, moving behind the safe barrier at the edge of the floor.

"The rules remain the same," his voice boomed over the hushed crowd. "Combat continues until one is defeated or yields. Do not cause extreme harm or kill your opponent’s Summon."

Chance raised his hand, then sliced it downward. "Start!"

"Buster, Void Step!" Dane roared instantly, completely shedding his gentle demeanor.

"He’s rushing in!" a student yelled in the crowd. "Awesome!"

The Ursine vanished. There was no blur of motion, just an instant displacement of space. A split second later, the massive beast materialized directly above the skeleton.

It had its spatial claws above its head, and there was a blinding purple light glowing around them as it brought them crashing down to rend the undead to dust.

"Shield," Min Tu muttered, barely raising her voice.

The skeleton’s eye sockets flared with a brilliant, steadfast gold. That meant it was using a Knight Skill.

It planted the butt of its staff-spear into the floor. A translucent tower shield made of hardened Grace projected outward, meeting the Ursine’s claws.

BOOM!

The impact sounded like a cannon firing. Shockwaves rippled across the arena floor, cracking the stone beneath the skeleton’s boots, but the Knight’s defense held perfectly.

"Use Portal Swipe!" Dane yelled, pointing aggressively.

While still suspended in the air, the Ursine swiped its left claw at the empty space beside the shield. Min Tu’s skeleton had not anticipated that.

A tear in reality opened. Instantly, a corresponding portal ripped open directly behind the skeleton’s head, the Ursine’s massive spatial claw violently emerging from it to strike the undead’s blind spot.

Students screamed, anticipating a decapitation.

"Burn and Bash," Min Tu ordered lazily, stuffing her hands into her pockets.

The skeleton didn’t even bother to turn around. The ruby at the base of its staff flared with the fiery orange magic of a Fire Mage.

A pillar of flame erupted from the skeleton’s back, blasting straight into the portal and scorching the Ursine’s arm.

As the beast roared in pain and recoiled, the skeleton’s aura abruptly shifted to a blood-red Berserker glow.

Its skeletal muscles—as if that was a thing—seemed to expand. Gripping the staff-spear with two hands, it swung the heavy weapon like a baseball bat, slamming the blunt shaft directly into the falling Ursine’s ribs with bone-shattering force.

The beast was launched across the arena, skidding heavily across the stone as the students erupted into "Oohs!" and wild cheers.

Dane gritted his teeth. "Meteor Portals, Buster! Overwhelm it!"

Lancet’s eyes widened, his heart started to bounce, his skin started to crawl. This was awesome. He was watching a novel’s fight scene in real life.

How was he just realizing how cool this was??

The Ursine recovered, slamming its glowing claws into the ground. A dozen small portals ripped open in a circle around the skeleton.

From the rifts, high-velocity shards of spatial energy and sharp-edged debris began firing out from every conceivable angle, a barrage designed to break past any shield.

Min Tu, somehow, still didn’t even look worried. She cracked her neck. "Clear the sky."

The skeleton hoisted its staff-spear. The aura shifted to emerald green which meant it was using its Archer’s Class, mainly for the precision.

Instead of projecting a shield, the skeleton twirled the spear. It thrust the bladed tip forward dozens of times in a single second.

With every thrust, a compressed bullet of fire shot from the tip, perfectly intercepting every single incoming spatial shard.

Explosions bloomed in a tight ring around the undead, smoking out the arena.

"Close the distance! Rend!" Dane screamed desperately.

Using the smoke as cover, the Ursine tore a massive portal, stepping through it to materialize inches from the skeleton’s face, both claws pulled back for an unblockable, cross-slashing spatial tear.

Min Tu finally pulled her hands out of her pockets. She snapped her fingers. "Execution."

The skeleton dropped its stance. The red Berserker aura and the orange Fire Mage aura merged into one.

The undead moved into the Ursine’s space when blocking seemed like the better option. However, it executed a stunning martial move by driving the heavy blunt base of its staff directly into the bear’s sternum, knocking the wind from its lungs.

The beast still attempted to complete its attack, but the skeleton swept its leg, kicking the Ursine’s massive paws out from under it.

As the bear crashed onto its back, the skeleton spun the weapon. The razor-sharp spear tip slammed down, stopping exactly one millimeter above the Ursine’s throat, radiating a searing heat that singed the beast’s starry fur.

The Ursine froze, then let out a soft whine as it sadly accepted defeat.

Dane threw his hands up instantly, his innocent face pale. "We yield! We yield!"

The arena exploded. Students leapt from their seats, roaring and clapping at the awesome display.

"That was the best duel yet!" one said.

"You can say that again."

Min Tu gave a tired wave of her hand. The skeleton dispersed into black mist, sinking back into the floor. Dane rushed over to his Ursine, petting its head and murmuring apologies before sending it back through a starry rift.

The tall, muscly boy walked over to the ragged-looking girl. He offered his hand with a sheepish, good-natured smile.

Min Tu looked at it for a second before grasping it, giving a single, firm nod. The applause swelled louder.

Professor Chance stepped out from the safe zone, walking back into the center of the battle floor.

"Excellent control from both duelists," Chance announced, his voice easily carrying over the applause. "Return to your seats."

After taking a short time to explain the tactics and mistakes that both parties did, Professor Chance announced that it was time for the final duel for today.

A tense, expectant silence settled over the hall.

Lancet’s heart leaped a little bit. He knew exactly what was coming.

Professor Chance slowly turned, his eyes sweeping past the rows of students until they locked directly onto the back row.

"Next up," his voice echoed through the breathless hall. "Lancet Leogardt."