But the end of their shock doesn't stop there.

"..."

Nero turned away from the mountain of construction materials, his attention shifting to something else entirely.

Two cards materialized in his hand, their silver borders gleaming with power that made even the experienced summons take notice.

SR-tier.

Not the bronze of the mass summoning.

These were on a completely different level.

"Two more," he announced casually, as if he hadn't just blown everyone's minds with impossible material manifestation. "An architect and an alchemist. Glad I hold onto them, they should be great for what we're building."

"..."

The newly summoned R-tier craftswomen exchanged glances.

They'd just witnessed their master summon 30 of them and a mountain of supplies.

And he was just... continuing?

Like this was a normal Tuesday?

'What kind of monster mana does he have…?' Belkia wondered, her practical mind trying to calculate the magical energy expenditure required for what she'd witnessed.

The numbers didn't make sense.

Even if she's not a mage or a summoner herself, she knew the basics of input and output of mana, and just how much would he need to do this much summoning.

Even legendary summoners needed rest between major castings.

But Nero looked completely fine, he's not even breathing hard.

'... J-Just where is he getting all of those mana?'

And not to mention that she hasn't heard of any summoner actually summoning a person… let alone mass summon them in one go.

"..."

Belkia was beyond astounded.

"Summon."

*FLASH! FLASH!*

Silver light exploded across the clearing, far more intense than the bronze glow from before.

The magical density spiked significantly, making the air itself feel heavy with power.

Two figures materialized simultaneously as the light faded.

The first was immediately striking.

A white tiger beastwoman who stood tall and proud, her furred arms and legs covered in elegant black stripes that created natural patterns across her body.

Her face carried feline features that somehow enhanced rather than detracted from her beauty, sharp amber eyes that gleamed with intelligence and boldness.

She wore practical work clothes similar to Belkia's, but with modifications for her more wild and athletic build, there's also the addition of protective padding across the shoulders and chest.

A tool belt hung at her waist, specialized implements for architectural work secured in custom loops.

But what really stood out was her presence.

Confident, almost wild in nature.

The kind of personality that commanded attention just by existing.

===

Summon: Helya – "The White-Furred Architect" (SR)

Race: Beastkin (White Tiger)

Class: Architect

Type: Construction/Design Specialist

Affection Gauge: 16%

STR: ✦✦

DEX: ✦✦

INT: ✦✦✦

VIT: ✦✦

CHA: ✦✦

– Notable Skills –

[Fortress Design (Master)]

[Aesthetic Innovation (Advanced)]

[Structural Analysis (Master)]

===

Nodding at the wild-looking beastwoman, Nero's eyes landed on the alchemist next,

"..."

The second figure contrasted sharply.

A human woman with long brown hair pulled back in a practical ponytail, large glasses perched on a delicate face that carried exhaustion in every line.

Her figure was... distracting.

A bombshell body that seemed almost at odds with her timid demeanor and scholarly appearance.

She wore a loose alchemist's robe in deep purple, various vials and pouches secured to a belt that emphasized her curves despite the modest cut.

Her hands trembled slightly as she took in her surroundings, confusion and fear warring in her expression.

===

Summon: Felt Drelsyn – "The Potion Seeker" (SR)

Race: Human

Class: Alchemist

Type: Potion/Elixir Specialist

Affection Gauge: 8%

STR: ✦

DEX: ✦✦

INT: ✦✦✦✦

VIT: ✦

CHA: ✦✦

– Notable Skills –

[Potion Transmutation (Master)]

[Pharmaceutical Conversion (Master)]

[Elixir Theory (Advanced)]

===

"What... where am I?"

Helya's voice cut through the confusion immediately, her wild amber eyes scanning the surroundings with alert wariness.

Her tail swished with obvious agitation as she took in the gathered crowd, the materials, the impossible situation.

"This isn't... I was working on fortress designs for the northern territories. Now I'm... where exactly?"

"I... where... what..."

Felt's words also came out stuttered and broken beside her, panic rising in her voice.

"This isn't... I was... my research..."

Her vision blurred as the world seemed to tilt.

The last thing she remembered was…

***

The Drelsyn estate's laboratory had always been Felt's sanctuary.

Rows of carefully organized ingredients.

Gleaming alchemical equipment maintained with obsessive care.

The familiar smell of herbs and chemicals meant safety and purpose.

She'd spent countless hours here, even as a child, watching her mother work.

"Remember, Felt," Mother's gentle voice echoed in her memory. "Alchemy isn't just about mixing ingredients. It's about understanding the essence of what you're working with. The soul of the materials."

Young Felt had nodded enthusiastically, her eyes wide with wonder as Mother demonstrated a simple healing potion.

The way the ingredients combined, the magical resonance as they bonded, the final product glowing with contained power.

"One day," Her mother had said with her warm smile, "you'll surpass me. I can already tell. You have the gift, my darling. The intuition that can't be taught."

But those memories felt like torture now.

Because…

"Hicc… hiccc…"

Her mother is gone now.

Taken by a disease that had no name, no cure and no mercy.

*Cough... cough...*

The sound of her mother's deteriorating health had become a constant backdrop to Felt's teenage years.

The mysterious illness that started with fatigue.

Then came the fever that wouldn't break.

Skin that turned gray and cold despite the heat.

Eyes that lost their light day by day.

The family called it "Ashvein Decay" based on how Mother's veins turned dark and visible beneath her skin, spreading like ash through water.

"It's incurable," the doctors had said with professional sympathy that felt hollow. "We don't even understand what causes it. All we can do is make her comfortable."

But the Drelsyn family hadn't accepted that.

They were alchemists, pharmaceutical specialists whose lineage stretched back centuries.

If anyone could find a cure, it should be them.

Felt threw herself into research with desperate intensity.

Days without sleep.

Weeks without leaving the laboratory.

Months of failed experiments and crushed hope.

Her father worked alongside her, his usually steady hands trembling as he mixed compounds with increasing desperation.

"Try adding moonbell essence," he suggested during one particularly frustrating session. "The lunar properties might counteract the decay's progression."

They tried.

But her mother's condition worsened as days passed by.

"Perhaps the wyvern's blood for its regenerative properties?... Damn it, if only we had dragon's blood."

That failed too.

"... Damn it, if only we had dragon's blood."

Every attempt, every theory, every desperate gamble.

Nothing worked.

Nothing even slowed the progression.

Her mother grew weaker by the day, her once-vibrant presence fading like a candle burning its last.

"Please," Felt had begged during one of her mother's lucid moments. "Please hold on. I'll find something. I promise."

Her frail hand had squeezed hers weakly.

"My brilliant daughter... don't... don't destroy yourself for me..."

But Felt couldn't stop.

Wouldn't stop.

Until her father came to her one evening with hopeful light in his eyes.

"The church," he said quietly. "They claim to have an elixir. Something blessed by divine power that can cure any disease."

"Divine power?"

Felt's skepticism was immediate.

"Father, we've tried dozens of supposedly divine remedies. None of them..."

"This is different."

His voice cracked in desperation as he gritted his teeth.

"Bishop Julius himself vouched for it. He showed me testimonials, documentation of miraculous recoveries. And he's willing to sell it to us. For... for a price."

The price had been staggering.

Almost everything the Drelsyn family had accumulated over generations.

Their estate, their equipment, their savings, their future.

All of it, in exchange for a single vial of "divine elixir" that supposedly could cure anything.

"We can rebuild," Father had said, though his eyes showed he didn't believe it. "What matters is saving your mother."

The negotiation had taken weeks.

Bishop Julius had been smooth, sympathetic, and understanding.

His words dripped with holy compassion as he explained the elixir's rarity.

"This is blessed water from the Sacred Spring," he explained reverently. "Mixed with essences of the holiest herbs, consecrated through ancient rituals. Only the highest clergy have access to such power."

The vial he presented truly looked extraordinary.

A red glimmering liquid in a crystal container, sealed with a wax stamp bearing the church's symbol.

Everything about it suggested the miraculous power it supposedly contained.

The desperation made people believe impossible things, especially when presented with something that looks convincing as this.

The Drelsyn family paid everything.

Signed away almost all of their wealth with shaking hands.

And received the precious elixir with hope that felt painful in its intensity.

"This will work," Felt had whispered to herself as they prepared to administer it. "It has to work."

Mother was barely conscious by then, her breathing was shallow and labored.

The Ashvein Decay had progressed to its final stages, dark veins covering almost her entire body.

Father carefully opened the vial, his hands surprisingly steady despite everything.

"..."

The liquid inside smelled faintly of herbs and something else Felt couldn't identify.

They administered it drop by drop, exactly as Bishop Julius had instructed.

"Three drops under the tongue. Wait one hour. Then three more drops. The divine power will cleanse all impurities."

And then they waited.

Minutes.

Hours.

Days.

Weeks…

Nothing changed.

… Mother's condition didn't improve.

Her state didn't even stabilize.

If anything, she seemed to be deteriorating faster.

"No... no, this can't be right…!"

Her father's voice broke as he realized the truth.

"The bishop said... he promised..."

*Cough...*

Mother's final breath came that evening.

Surrounded by her family in a laboratory that had failed her.

The "divine elixir" still half-full in its crystal vial.

Completely useless.

The grief that followed was crushing.

But worse than grief was the realization that came later.

"What?! What do you mean he's gone?!"

When they tried to contact Bishop Julius, he was gone.

Vanished from the cathedral without a trace.

The other clergy said they'd never heard of him.

The documentation he'd shown? Forgeries.

The testimonials? Fabrications.

The "divine elixir"?

Felt analyzed it personally once the shock wore off.

Water.

Literally just blessed water with cheap herbs mixed in.

Worth maybe 5 copper coins if you were generous.

They'd paid everything… for snake oil.

She and her family didn't analyze the "elixir", as it was instructed by that Bishop that once it was opened the potency would instantly diminish…

"..."

They have been too naive.

And now they were scammed by a con artist wearing holy robes.

And her mother had died because they'd wasted precious time believing in false hope instead of continuing their research.

"The Inquisition..."

Felt's voice had been hollow when she spoke to Father afterward.

"They're supposed to be holy… and to help people. And yet, they let someone like that operate under their authority?!"

"Perhaps they didn't know," Father tried weakly. "P-Perhaps..."

"No!"

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