Adam and Elena headed south together past the trench being dug around the hill. Though some patches of green still survived the dragon's fire, Adam kept going through the scorched land until he found a cabin where he was certain they would remain hidden, safe from even the most unlikely discovery.
It was an empty cabin, with a view of a wide park that lay completely dead, covered in ash. The ocean breeze fought off the carbon scent of the scorched land. If one listened, a faint whisper of the sea could be heard.
"Two weeks ago, we stood like that and summoned every member of your squad," Adam said, attempting to make the moment ceremonious.
"Praised Be Sol Imperius." She said with a nod, recognizing the miracles she witnessed that day.
"Praised be!" Adam smiled and faced the miniature on the ground. "Now, let's see what we're going to have. ARISE!"
The command came strongly. Adam felt the mental power sapping through his head, then a heavy weight pressed on his sanity. It was stronger than ever before, but contrary to all expectations, no holy light came through, nor a tear in reality or a gush of summoning energy.
Instead, the miniature grew until it stood as tall as Adam, then stopped.
Adam gulped and exchanged looks with Elena, who was just as disturbed as he was with the result of the summoning.
"This… this is no Summon." Elena said, her brows twitching.
"Yes," Adam stared at the thing his magic had caused, his brows furrowed. Stepping closer, he extended his hand to touch the man in front of him. The moment he made contact, a system pop-up flashed, and Adam realized what was going on: "It's just a puppet."
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[ Solarium Man-at-Arms ] < Legendary Familiar >
A brave Man-at-Arms of the Solarium, a soldier who is willing to sacrifice himself for the cause of humanity's survival. This soldier comes from Wartopia's starter edition, but the artificer's skill in assembling it had reached the apex of human limits, creating a lifelike imitation. Truly, a work of a master.
Blazer Pistol — This familiar possesses the ability to fire Blazer-heated beams from its pistol.
Combat Expert — Based on a being born and bred for military life, this familiar has excellent lifelike combat intuition.
Mechanic Expert — The familiar also possesses mechanical intuition, capable of performing mechanical duties nonstop.
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"You've got to be kidding me!" Adam said, his frown only grew deeper, as he felt a sensation of supreme authority over that puppet, something akin to total control.
He raised a finger, imagining the puppet looking at it, and the puppet did just that. He stepped very close, examining the puppet. Bringing his thumb and index finger together, then spreading them apart, he imagined the puppet's mouth opening, and it did so to a disturbing degree.
Adam's furrow completely loosened, and he stepped back, utterly freaked out by the puppet's appearance. He closed its mouth with an opposite gesture, then stood close to Elena, who was equally disgusted.
"What the fuck is that?" He asked with a screaming whisper, almost hiding behind her.
"You tell me, Commander! You summoned him… it… whatever that is!" She replied with the same level of whispering, as if the two didn't want the puppet to listen to them.
"Oh, right! I did." Adam looked between her and the summon, then back at her, before startling her by touching her cheek.
"Don't do that!" She immediately slapped his hand, disapproving of his action, but he wasn't looking at her, even when their eyes were meeting.
She felt it; he was reading through her.
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[ Sergeant Skarn ] < Unique Familiar >
Sergeant Elena Skarn is a Mechanic Man-at-Arms, leader of the Trench Dogs squad of the Venuxian Regiment of the Solarium Men-at-Arms. A stern leader and a very competent fighter. Elena grew up an orphan on the planet of Venus in a silo-city. Her origin may have been from the deep, but with a fierce will to survive, she coerced her way into military training at the age of 15. She studied hard to be more than just an auxiliary, culminating in her becoming a combat mechanic. She lost her left arm, a loss that hindered her promotion.
Ideals — (Survival) Those who survive are those who are worthy to thrive.
Flaws — (Obsession) Mark your toys, fix them when broken, and keep them forever.
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Adam looked at the system pop-up, a shiver running through his spine. The description was the part he knew about Elena, the information he had read from her squad's starter kit, but those Ideals and Flaws were completely new.
Aside from realizing how scary and obsessive that woman was, Adam realized something completely new about his summons.
"Quality also comes from knowledge." He muttered to himself, looking at the legendary puppet he had just made, then back at Elena.
"What was that?" She asked, unsettled by something she felt deep within.
"Unique isn't just a rarity; you are unique, Elena." Adam said and then pointed at the puppet, "That thing isn't unique, it is legendary in terms of quality but you… You are just one of a kind."
"Thank you…" She said, completely losing track of his thoughts, causing her to shake her head in confusion and ask again, "Excuse me?"
Adam, however, met her frown with a smile.
"I thought my general knowledge of Wartopia was what enabled me to summon you, but it is much more," Adam said, pointing at her. "I summoned you, Sergeant, because I knew you beforehand. I've read about you, so I summoned you… But it doesn't explain the others…"
He started thinking, hoping that Kave was here to connect the dots faster for him, but he had to rely on his head. He approached the Legendary puppet, looked at its face—which was completely generic and unimpressive—made it open its mouth in the same unsettling way like those naked giants from that anime, and he lodged his hand completely in its mouth.
The scene made Elena look on in disgust. Adam pulled his hand back, but contrary to common sense, it was completely dry.
"What are you… Hey! BLEGH!" Elena was about to ask him something when she immediately found Adam's finger in her mouth.
She spat on the floor and looked at him, disgusted, but he was only comparing the hand he got out of the puppet's mouth and the one wet with saliva from her mouth.
He smiled like a child, wide and happy, not as if his summon had completely and utterly failed to produce something unique.
"What's that about?" She asked, and for the first time, freaked out by Adam himself.
"Look!" He said with a blissful smile. "You are unique, a real person. Because I know who you are, Elena Skarn." He repeated his previous statement, then continued, "My knowledge of Wartopia wasn't enough to summon a unique person like you. I must know what and who I am summoning."
"Oh!"
She now realized something that, while not a game-changer, was more wondrous about his ability. He turned to the summon and took the Blazer pistol from its hand.
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[ Blazer Pistol ] < Rare Ranged Weapon >
A high-powered Blazer issued to the Solarium Mechanics serving in the Legio Bellarium.
Blazer Fire — Channels a super-heated light charge into a focused beam that strikes with both thermal burn and kinetic punch.
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"The weapon is genuine, though!" Adam said, discovering as he handed it to Elena for her to check.
She nodded in agreement as the weapon was truly real, before handing it back to Adam.
"I hadn't had that idea, but since I summoned a Refinery Rig, I can just summon the miniaturized tools without attaching them to miniatures. That would be crazy!" Adam muttered to himself.
"It would solve some issues indeed." She nodded.
"Good. We'll do that once we get back." Adam said, then turned to his legendary summon. "Cancel!"
Adam said and ended the summoning, turning it back to a miniature. The weight of the pistol in hand completely disappeared as it, too, turned into a miniaturized tool. Adam picked up the miniature and reattached the miniature Blazer to its hands before facing Elena.
"So, we need to know who that guy is." He said.
"When you were summoning the Privates of my unit, you didn't know them, since there was no information about them on the paper you knew me from." She said.
"Yes." Adam pointed, remembering, "But it was you who told me who these summons were. You told me about Hammerhead and Biscuits and all the others way before I summoned them, so I had prior knowledge."
"Right." She nodded, the situation making sense now.
"So, do you know a guy who looks like that?" He asked, waiting for Elena to enlighten him.
Elena looked at the miniature and spoke:
"Light gray uniform, black patterns. You wanted to summon a Lunar Mechanic, it seems."
"Yes, Lunars are known for their mechanical genius." Adam nodded.
"Lunar pussies, we called them. The last thing they do is fight." Elena snorted, disapproving of the defense-inclined methods of the Lunar Men-at-Arms.
"So, you know one or not?" Adam asked.
"As a matter of fact, I do." She said, rolling her eyes. "Once, we had a joint operation. I hated everyone on Luna, but I met a decent Mechanic called Wrench. He was one of the best mechanics at moving defensive turrets and siege engines."
"Good enough." Adam nodded, then switched to the Fanatic's miniature. "What about him?"
Elena shook her head with sealed lips, implying that she didn't have the displeasure of knowing an Urdman Fanatic before; she had probably only shot at them.
Adam narrowed his eyes while looking at the Fanatic's miniature and remembered something.
"There was this guy called Trench Corporal Flint. He lived in the Wicked Years and was said to have defended a trench by himself for ten days and nights because the retreat order didn't get to him. He survived the first three days by Fanatic tactics, the next three days with a heavy blazer, the next three with ambushes and improvised bombs, and on the tenth day, he fought with his e-tool until it broke, and he was killed. He took 136 heretic soldiers with him."
"Sol!" Elena trembled at the tale of heroism Adam told her from the lore he knew.
A miniature in each hand, Adam put them side by side and smiled with confidence. He raised his hand, stepped back, and said the magic word:
"ARISE!"
Light shimmered!
Reality shifted!
Hearts shook!
Two figures emerged from the light, one bearing a long Scorcher and the other a Pistol Blazer. One an Urdman from Great Urd—the Fatherland of Mankind, while the other came from Luna—the planet that shielded Urd from many horrors.
The light settled and faded gradually, the two men standing side-by-side, facing Adam, and in unison, they raised their fists in front of their faces, aimed up, and straightened their backs.
""Commander!""
Adam stood tall, a smile curving on his face, as he returned their salute in Solarium fashion.
"Corporal Mechanic Wrench." He faced the man on the right, giving him an approving nod before turning to the left. "Corporal Fanatic Flint."
Wrench, dressed in light grey and black, seemed younger than most of the Men-at-Arms Adam had summoned, but his eyes gleamed with the genius of Luna, as the lore called it. As for Flint, he wore the yellowish-brown color of the Urdic Men-at-Arms regiment, his face hidden behind a gas mask. His voice was terrible, as if it belonged to the heaviest smoker Adam had ever met.
"Welcome to Earth, gentlemen. A planet overtaken by monsters, with its human population driven to its last leg." He said and wanted to add a joke, "Your mission, if you choose to…"
As he was speaking, something loud cut his words.
SHRIEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!
Adam, Elena, Flint, and Wrench all turned towards the scorched park, knowing that whatever made that scream was no human.
A few muddy, crawling creatures started appearing on land. As Adam and the others looked closer, they found that the entire park was covered in a swarm of these things. They resembled ants, but with wider bodies and a slow, marching movement.
But among them stood an upright, monstrous figure, walking on four legs and possessing four arms, each ending in a pincer, and the size of a Star Paladin.
Its pincers clicked twice as it detected the four humans the moment they laid eyes on it.
"Commander!" Elena shook Adam's body to wake him from his daze.
"As I was saying: monsters!" He said, his breath haggard even without running, before giving his command: "Retreat to the Trenches! Alert the troops! We hold our land!"
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