Chapter 335. Tour the Tower.

  “All right, students, I’m Professor Zaraman, and this is Professor Kline who will be assisting in several of your classes this year. I’d like to personally welcome you to the academy, and I look forward to getting to know you all as you progress as students. This class will be your homeroom, and it is here where we will go over the basics of Summoning. I know many of you are already committed to a summoning class, but some of you have only dabbled in this type of magic.

  “No matter what you intend to do with summoning, it will behoove you to learn as much about every type of magic you can while you’re here. I won’t get into class details yet; we’ll leave the syllabus for the official first day. For now, we’ll escort you to several of the classrooms on this level and introduce you to the various professors you will be working with,” Melody said.

  I merely waved to the group and followed alongside Melody as she finished up her speech and we began to walk around the next several floors to visit all the possible classrooms that the first-year students might be enrolled in. I was surprised that despite only being here a few days, I already knew several of the professors just from our quick conversations in the cafeteria, or running into them in the faculty areas of the tower.

  The group we were herding around had 32 students of various species, and we passed several other professors who were doing the same thing. Melody seemed like an old hand at this kind of stuff, easily bantering with the students and the other groups we passed by. While I didn’t mind interacting with others, I was never this confident and carefree in a crowd.

  “This is the last classroom on our tour, then we’ll head to the cafeteria to get something to eat. Students, let me introduce you to Professor Dalzrin, our expert on infernal summoning. For most of you, his class will be scheduled in your third or fourth year, but a few of you may have already obtained a class or summoning skill that will need the professor’s knowledge and skill well before then,” Melody said as we walked into yet another classroom.

  This room was just like the other classes, but perhaps a bit smaller, which seemed the norm with the classes the students would take later in their education. I was at the back of the group to help herd any strays and was the last to enter the room. It has a faint sulfurous scent to the air, but it wasn’t overpowering or overly offensive.

  Other than the smell, the room itself was what I expected. In this case, larger desks were shared by groups of four students. Several bookcases and storage shelves lined the walls, and a marked circle in the center of the floor had several mana-laden designs painted on it. When I finally made it fully into the room and got a look at the professor, I couldn’t help but summon my minions.

  The drone and then Elida popped into being at the back of the room, both moving quickly to put themselves between me and the professor. There, standing at the head of the classroom, smiling and interacting with the students was the spitting image of Gary. I was about to start using my consumables and other items when I caught the look of horror in Melody’s face as she saw what I was about to do.

  “Look students, Rico has brought out two of his minions, take a good look, this is what you can expect from a tier three minion if your class concentrates on quality over quantity. Rico, step over here and meet Professor Dalzrin. He’s been with the academy for over two decades now and teaches various classes on infernal summoning, as well as navigating the contracts that typically go along with them,” Melody said, smoothly covering up my antics.

  I gained control over myself and tamped down the rage as I realized this wasn’t Gary, just another imp that looked very similar. Now that I could look closer, this imp was about a foot taller than Gary and was slim where Gary had a bit of a gut on him. Still, I was going to keep my guard up around anything that resembled Gary.

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  “Rico, a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard good things about you from Melody,” the professor said before leaning in and whispering so the other students couldn’t hear. “Melody also mentioned that you had a problem with an infernal. Is this in relation to a summoning or a contract?” Dalzrin asked.

  “A bit of both, I’m afraid, it’s a complicated situation,” I said.

  “Well then, I have some time now, this should be the last tour that visits my class today. Professor Zaraman, why don’t you escort the group to get some refreshments, and I’ll have a chat with our newest adjunct professor for a bit,” Dalzrin said.

  “Sounds good, I’ll see you at dinner, Rico,” Melody said, ushering the students out of the room. Dalzrin closed and locked the door, turning back toward me with his hands up in an effort to show that he wasn’t a threat. My minions moved to my side, ready to defend me if the need arose.

  “Now, why don’t you have a seat and start at the beginning. I can see you’re a bit agitated about my appearance. You may not believe me, but I’m different than most of my kin. I seek to acquire knowledge, not souls, and have enjoyed my position here for many years. Don’t worry, I won’t jeopardize my standing at the academy to engage in any foolery or soul contracting,” Dalzrin tried to assure me.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to offend you, but it’s been a rough time lately with Gary,” I said.

  “Gary?” Dalzrin asked.

  “Yeah, the infernal I’m having trouble with. I know that’s not his real name, just what I called him after our first meeting, since your names are, well, you know. Are you sure you really want to hear this? I don’t want to impose on you if you’re busy,” I offered. Dalzrin made me uncomfortable, and I wanted nothing more than to leave here, but I also knew that he could have knowledge that I would need to survive.

  “It’s no problem, Rico, you don’t mind if I call you Rico, do you? I have to admit, I’m curious about your situation and have always been a bit intrigued about the newly inducted worlds. Why don’t you start at the beginning, Rico, and I’ll see if I can help you in any way,” Dalzrin offered.

  “Sure, you can call me Rico. Is Professor Dalzrin okay? Or do you prefer something else,” I said, remembering the effect Gary’s true name had on the unfortunate guard. Being driven mad and dying weren’t on my to-do list for today.

  “You can just call me Dalzrin, no ‘professor’ is necessary when it’s just faculty. Start at the beginning and let me hear what difficulty my kin are causing for you,” Dalzrin asked

  I began my tale, trying my hardest to avoid mentioning the personal space issue, and instead just calling it a dispute over a magic item. Professor Dalzrin probably saw right through my lie, but I couldn’t read any ill intent on his face as he listened. Just like with Melody, he stopped me a few times to dig deeper into a few details, and my quick summary ended up being a thirty-minute discussion.

  “Interesting, you’re in quite a pickle, Rico. At least you seem to have some allies in your endeavor. A lich willing to not only negotiate on your behalf, but also willing to fight alongside you is highly unusual. I would be wary, though, and make sure the undead creature has no ulterior motives. If it’s any consolation, in my experience, the undead, save for some vampires, are rather forthright and seldom stoop to subterfuge in their actions,” Dalzrin said.

  “Is there any advice that you can give?” I asked hopefully.

  “Go back in time and end that first summoning early before you encountered Gary. It wouldn’t surprise me if he put all this in motion after your first meeting. Since time travel is not possible, you can only continue the path you’ve set for yourself. Grow strong and seek to defeat your foe in combat.

  “While my kind have relatively few physical weaknesses, we are mortal, and our bodies can be destroyed like any other mortal. One thing you can do, is realize that while he’s likely brilliant and devious, Gary has the same hubris that most of my kind struggle with. Use his arrogance against him, goad Gary into rash attacks, and respond with well-crafted tactics,” Dalzrin offered. It wasn’t any great revelation, and I was about to leave disappointed when he started to speak again.

  “There may be some ways to bolster your strength. I’ll speak with some of the other professors and try to get you some individual training sessions organized. Work hard and perform your contracted summoning tasks to the best of your ability, and maybe Headmaster Glorine will grant you a boon.

  “If he does, ignore any offers of training or other assistance, and ask for this,” Dalzrin said, holding up his hand while he looked through one of the shelves for a tome on artifacts. He flipped quickly through the various illustrations, and I waited to see what he was looking for.