Item drops are guaranteed.
That was one of the first things the instructors drilled into us before deployment. It did not matter how weak the monster was or how strong the one killing it happened to be. Something always dropped. The difference was quality.
Each monster had common drops and rare ones. Low grade magic crystals were the most frequent. Better materials were rarer and usually went to the people who did the most damage. The killing blow mattered. Contribution mattered too. The killer got priority and the rest were split among those who helped bring it down.
That system shaped everything.
I mostly stayed at the back.
As much as I wanted to test my blade the foes we were assigned to deal with were far too large and far too powerful for my sword to do more than annoy them. Thick hides. Reinforced bones. Mana saturated muscles that turned steel into an inconvenience.
Our unit moved through a commercial district that had been partially reclaimed. Broken storefronts. Burned out vehicles. The smell of ozone and blood clung to the air. Monsters still roamed the deeper streets and that was where we were headed.
The first wave hit us hard.
A pack of horned beasts charged out from between buildings. Large. Fast. Their hooves cracked pavement as they ran. The front line braced and I felt mana surge around me as spells began to fly.
I raised my sword anyway.
One of the beasts broke through the initial volley and barreled toward the center of our formation. Panic rippled through the line. Someone stumbled. The creature lunged.
I stepped forward without thinking.
Mana Enhanced Physique flared and my body moved faster than it had any right to. I slashed at the creature's leg with everything I had. The blade bit in deeper than I expected. Not enough to cripple it but enough to stagger it.
That was all it took.
A Knight smashed into it from the side. A spear punched through its neck. The beast collapsed in a heap of blood and steam.
My heart was racing.
A notification flashed.
Low Grade Magic Crystal x3 acquired
Not many. But they were mine.
That was the last time I pushed forward.
The next monsters were worse.
Towering brutes with stone like skin and glowing veins of mana pulsing beneath the surface. My sword barely scratched them. Every swing drained mana and achieved nothing. Watching others carve chunks out of those things made the difference painfully clear.
So I fell back.
Magic Missile became my focus again.
Shape. Aim. Release.
Blue streaks of condensed mana flew from my hands and struck weak points. Eyes. Joints. Open wounds created by heavier hitters. The missiles were not lethal but they were distracting. Enough to draw attention. Enough to stagger a monster at the right moment.
I stood shoulder to shoulder with spellcasters of different types. Fire. Ice. Lightning. Earth. Their spells lit up the battlefield and made my own efforts feel small by comparison.
I was barely keeping up with them.
But my goal was not to stand out.
I wanted to contribute.
And I wanted to gather crystals.
Whenever a monster fell I felt the faint tug as items entered my inventory. Small pulses of satisfaction followed by the immediate realization that it was still not enough.
I adjusted my positioning constantly. Staying behind the shield users. Keeping line of sight open. Avoiding anything that looked like it could close the distance too fast.
Hours passed like that.
We advanced street by street. Clearing pockets of resistance. Holding positions while heavier units pushed ahead. My mana dipped and recovered repeatedly as I paced myself carefully. I learned to fire Magic Missiles in controlled bursts rather than spamming them uselessly.
At one point a smaller creature slipped through.
It was fast and low to the ground. Too quick for the casters to track. It darted toward the backline with a shrill screech.
This time I did not hesitate.
I drew my sword and met it head on.
The blade connected with its neck. Mana Enhanced Strike flared instinctively and the creature's head came free in a spray of black blood. It collapsed at my feet twitching.
Silence followed.
Someone clapped me on the shoulder and laughed. "Nice cut."
I nodded and stepped back into position.
The notification came a second later.
Low Grade Magic Crystal x5 acquired
Better.
Still not enough.
As the sun dipped below the ruined skyline announcements crackled through our communicators. Progress updates. Cleared zones. Casualty numbers that were lower than expected.
According to the command staff about half of the city had already been reclaimed.
That was good news.
It also meant competition.
Those who stood out on the battlefield were impossible to miss. People with powerful Unique Skills tearing through monsters like they were made of paper. Heroes with pre invasion superpowers now amplified by mana turning entire streets into graveyards.
Their inventories must have been overflowing.
Compared to that my gains felt pathetic.
By the time we rotated out of the defense line I was exhausted. Nine hours of constant engagement. My mana pool was low. My arms felt heavy. My sword was nicked and stained.
I found a quiet spot near the staging area and checked my inventory.
Low Grade Magic Crystals: 64
I stared at the number.
One summon needed a hundred.
I was more than halfway there but that did not make it feel better. Not when others gathered hundreds in a single operation with spells that wiped out entire clusters of enemies.
Still.
Sixty four was more than zero.
I closed my inventory and leaned back against a wall letting my head rest for a moment. The sounds of battle continued in the distance but they felt muted now. Distant.
I did not regret staying in the backline.
Charging forward would have gotten me killed or worse. Broken. Unable to move again. All that healing would have been wasted.
I survived.
I contributed.
And I gathered crystals.
Slowly but surely the Isle of the Summoner was no longer an unreachable promise. It was a goal with numbers attached to it.
One more push.
One more deployment.
Then I would finally see what my ability could really do.