He studied the symbol carved into the door; a massive warbow with a lightning bolt etched inside a circle, right where both halves of the door met. From its pillars and design, Godfrey knew it was a door, but it was made of solid stone. Even with Mountain pushing with all his might, it didn't budge.
Godfrey finally opened his eyes in the real world. After all his attempts had failed, he rose to his feet and walked toward his bedroom. He needed rest. After such a long journey, it would be better to recover before diving into research about the green gate dungeons. They were spreading across the city now, so it wouldn't take long to find details online.
Still dwelling on this thought, he opened the door to his room, but the moment he stepped inside, every instinct screamed in alarm. His body moved before his mind did, summoning Mountain instantly.
'What's this?!'
The familiar comfort of his bedroom was gone. Instead, Godfrey stood within towering medieval stone walls, their upper corners veiled in age-old cobwebs. The floor beneath his feet was paved with crude, weather-worn blocks. It felt like he had been transported into the bowels of an ancient castle.
And twenty meters ahead, two hulking green-skinned beings awaited. Thick, bulging muscles strained beneath their rough hides, their ugly faces were made worse by the two thick tusks jutting upward from their gums. Bald-headed and clothed only in crude war-skirts of animal hide and bone, they radiated brutality.
Seven feet tall, brutish and savage, these were none other than orcs.
Godfrey froze. A green dungeon had manifested right inside his room. His bedroom of all places!
Only now did the words of the news anchor truly sink in. If green dungeons were this rampant, people weren't just at risk, they were living on borrowed time.
"Ukhxhes! Les kashisj!!" one of the orcs bellowed in a guttural tongue, brandishing its cudgel. The other mirrored his rage, and both charged.
Mountain moved like a tempest. His cloak snapped behind him as he intercepted the first orc's blow, his shield absorbing the impact and reflecting it with such force that the orc's arm shattered.
With a swift parry, he turned the second's cudgel aside and slammed an ironclad boot into its chest. The sheer power behind the strike sent the orc crashing into the wall like a ragdoll.
As the stunned orc staggered, Mountain crushed the first with a brutal shield-bash, the steel rim caving its skull. He spun fluidly, hurling his longsword across the chamber, the blade pierced clean through the chest of the second orc, pinning it against the wall.
"Kavsshi juvkeh!!" A furious roar erupted from above. Another orc leaped from the staircase landing, plummeting down with both feet aimed at Mountain's shield.
The collision rang out like thunder, but instead of Mountain falling back, the orc's legs gave way. Bones snapped, blood sprayed, and the creature crumpled in agony.
Two more orcs rushed to join the fray, but Mountain was already upon them. He retrieved his sword mid-charge, parried their wild swings, and cut them down with mechanical precision. Within two minutes, all five lay dead on the cobbled floor.
Godfrey stood frozen, stunned by the towering knight before him. Mountain's golden armor gleamed even under streaks of green orc blood. If Godfrey had ever doubted knights before, he didn't now.
Mountain wasn't merely a summon, he was a fortress made flesh.
The same orcs who could reduce a bodybuilder to pulp had fallen to him like straw before the scythe.
Stepping over the corpses to the staircase, Godfrey tilted his head to study his summon more closely.
Summoners had unique skills granted through their bonds. Symbiosis allowed them to inherit half their summon's physical strength. Echo, another, allowed them to use their summon's traits or skills directly.
Godfrey focused, willing the bond to activate.
In an instant, thick golden armor materialized around him, identical to Mountain's. Massive pauldrons crowned his shoulders, a white cloak with the symbol of the sun flowed at his back. For all its bulk, the armor weighed nothing, light as air.
'No wonder you move so fast. The weight benefits you without slowing you down!' Godfrey's eyes widened in realization.
His gauntlets gleamed with sharp steel tips. Testing further, he summoned an echo of Mountain's sword and shield. This time, when the weapons manifested, their weight slammed heavily against the stone floor.
He could lift the longsword with his enhanced strength, but not the shield. Unlike the armor, the weapons had no "weightless" blessing. Swinging the sword was possible, it felt like handling twenty-two kilograms casually, but holding it for long would drain him. With time, his body would fatigue until it felt as if he were wielding a hundred kilos.
He dismissed the shield, letting it dissolve into golden sparks. Hoisting the longsword over his shoulder with a sharp metallic clink, Godfrey followed Mountain up the staircase to an imposing set of doors.
With a thunderous crash, Mountain kicked them open, revealing a grand hallway. Towering weathered pillars lined its length, shadows stretching across the cracked stone floor. Four guards awaited within.
But these were no ordinary orcs.
They stood eight feet tall, their skins a deep crimson, marked with gray tribal tattoos. Each carried a massive two-handed axe, the double blades resting on the ground as they gripped the hafts with ritual stillness.
The moment they saw Godfrey and Mountain, they raised their weapons and advanced with heavy, ground-shaking steps.
Like charging rhinos, they swung. Mountain's shield absorbed the brunt, the reflected energy cutting gashes across their forearms.
Godfrey surged forward, swinging his longsword in a wide arc. The blade carved clean through the neck of the first red orc, its head tumbling across the stone floor. He twisted away just in time to avoid a crushing swing, deflecting another with a rising cut before shoulder-bashing the foe back.
His sword plunged deep into its chest. At the same moment, another blade pierced through from the other side, Mountain's.
The orc dropped with a shudder. Glancing around, Godfrey realized the Knight-Captain had already dealt with the other two, dispatching them with practiced ease.
Mountain flicked the blood from his sword with a single motion, and Godfrey let out a scoffing laugh, though a smile crept onto his face.
It felt good. For the first time in sixteen years, he wasn't powerless. He had a summon. And fighting alongside it… was exhilarating.
"Another door," Godfrey said, pointing at the looming double gate ahead.
Mountain mirrored his stance, sword resting over his shoulder, and followed without hesitation. With a mighty kick, the door blasted open, hinges shrieking as it swung wide.
Beyond lay a vast chamber… The boss's lair.
...
A/N: I hope you enjoy this novel. Support by adding to your library and giving a power stone or two. Thank you.