The Divine Summoner: Godson of Altima

by Antony W. F. Chow

  The supervisor's face hardened. "Well?"

  "Yes, sir!" Penny saluted and ran off.

  Tulo patted Luka's back. "Keep up the good work," he said and departed.

  * * *

  After the week ended, Pope Demetrius summoned Supervisor Tulo. When the younger man tried to kiss his ring, the church leader waved aside formal courtesies and asked the official a blunt question. "What is your impression of Luka?"

  The supervisor was surprised by the pope's question but quickly recovered. By now, Tulo was aware of Luka's illustrious background and actively praised the lad. "He is wonderful," Tulo opined. "Luka is self-motivated and hardworking. He possesses an enormous mana pool and created more holy water than we need for daily operations. With Luka's help, we managed to stockpile the excess."

  "What is your impression of Luka's personality? Does he come across as arrogant or aggressive?"

  Tulo shook his head. "Luka is very humble despite his spectacular magical ability. He obeys my instructions without question. No wonder this young man has caught your eye," he answered.

  The pope smiled gently at the man's praise of his godson because it confirmed Demetrius' belief that Trevor was the aggressor in his conflict with Luka. "Where do you think Luka should work next?" the leader inquired.

  Tulo thought for a moment. "He needs some fieldwork. Since his light magic proficiency is extraordinarily high, Luka would make an excellent healer in our church clinics," he replied.

  "Which one would you suggest sending him?" Demetrius pressed for a recommendation.

  The supervisor responded with a question and a smile. "How far will you permit Luka to travel?"

  The pope's brows arched.

  "I think Luka should become a traveling priest. Give him a specific territory to roam, and let him visit remote villages to promote the church with miraculous acts of healing," Tulo advised.

  Demetrius considered this idea and debated its merits. The biggest worry was Luka's physical safety on the road, where monsters and bandits lurked. But he could alleviate this concern by sending additional templars to accompany his godson.

  Moreover, their presence would affirm Luka's identity as a church member and ensure that he would receive a proper welcome from villagers during his visit. This assignment's significant benefit was that Luka could travel across the kingdom and see its citizens with his eyes.

  The pope looked at Tulo and smiled. "Thank you for your helpful suggestion."

  The supervisor bowed deeply. "I am happy to serve Your Holiness."

  * * *

  During supper, a maid frantically rushed into the dining room. "Your Excellency, the pope has come!"

  Duchess Silverblade calmly lowered her fork and wiped her mouth with a napkin. She glanced over at Luka, who nodded.

  The two rose from their seats and walked out of the guesthouse to greet the sudden visitor. They offered aristocratic salutes when the church leader climbed out of his carriage.

  "I apologize for coming here unannounced, but I have something important to discuss. May I enter?" the pope asked for permission.

  "You are always welcome, Your Holiness," Juliette responded politely.

  "We are happy you took the time to visit us," Luka chipped in.

  "I appreciate your indulgence," the pope replied. He gripped Luka's arm and slowly entered the residence.

  When Luka directed the guest to sit at the table's head, Demetrius shook his head to decline. "That seat belongs to the duchess. I'll sit across from you."

  Luka obeyed and helped the pope sit down. Then he took his original chair.

  "I apologize for interrupting your meal," Demetrius said when he saw the half-finished plates on the table.

  "It's quite alright. Would you like something to eat?" the hostess offered graciously.

  "I would like a cup of wine from your vineyard if you brought some with you," the guest answered with a grin.

  Juliette glanced at her servants.

  One of them nodded and quietly entered the kitchen. The maid returned carrying a tray containing a bottle of red wine and a glass. She expertly filled a cup and placed it on the table in front of the guest.

  Demetrius took a sip of the wine and enjoyed its taste. He set the glass on the table, and his face turned serious. "I'm here to discuss three topics with you. First, I apologize as head of the Divine Church of Light for a member's criminal acts against Luka. I'm sorry." The church leader bowed low to convey his contrite.

  The duchess' brows rose. "Your Holiness, can you disclose what happened?"

  The pope raised his head. "You saw the brilliant flash of light recently," he began.

  The two listeners nodded.

  "I joined the investigation and learned that our Goddess Altima caused the incident. She directed her divine wrath at two targets: Trevor von Milstein and Archbishop Windsor von Milstein. The young man had a conflict with Luka, which escalated into attempted murder. Luka's pets defeated Trevor's men, and then Luka brought them to the knights in the Western Order and filed a formal complaint against Trevor. I pleaded with Luka to rescind to avoid embarrassing the archbishop and tarnish the Milstein family name."

  "As punishment, I demoted Trevor from church deacon back to an apprentice and assigned him to spend a year creating food and water at the factory. Unfortunately, Trevor did not learn from his punishment. Instead, he tried to attack Luka again at the worksite."

  "I believe Altima became dissatisfied with my adjudication and took direct action against both the culprit and his protector. Our goddess burned Trevor with Holy Light and turned his body into ashes. The archbishop received a Ray of Enfeeblement and a curse from her; he lost his mental acuity and cannot continue to serve the church."

  Luka was shocked because he didn't expect Altima to react harshly against his attacker. He slowly raised his hand and asked a question. "Will I be expelled from the church?"

  The pope was shocked. "Why would I dismiss you when you've done nothing wrong? You healed a church follower and got into trouble for helping her. I was too lenient on Trevor. I should have expelled Trevor regardless of how much his uncle would protest. That is the lesson I drew from Altima's direct actions."

  "Secondly, I want to discuss the interrogation of the assassins who attacked you before arriving in Lumina. Unfortunately, the captives committed suicide with poison hidden inside their molars. I also tried using the Orb of Truth, but something blocked it; I saw nothing within the crystal ball."

  "The third topic involves your next assignment: become a traveling priest. Your task is to visit remote villages and small towns and heal the rural residents. I ask Duchess Silverblade for permission to send you out for at least two weeks and up to six weeks," Demetrius revealed. He turned toward the mother and waited for her decision.

  "Where do you plan to send him?" Juliette asked in a frosty tone of voice. Her first reaction was to oppose this assignment because the mother wished to spend time with her son during the winter break. Juliette secretly cherished the morning spars and quiet dinners in the evening with him. She never expected Luka to be sent away during his church apprenticeship.

  "Do you have a preference?" the cunning man countered.

  The duchess eyed her son and pondered her choices. "I wish for my son to visit a remote part of our Heavensfell dukedom. This journey would allow the heir to learn more about his domain," Juliette answered.

  Demetrius took out a map from his magic bag and unfurled it on the table. The illustration depicted the entire Morninglory Kingdom.

  Juliette peered at it and placed her finger on a location. "I want my son to go there."

  The pope peered at the map and nodded his agreement. "Let's send him to Izan."

  Chapter 92

  Preparation for Departure

  Pope Demetrius understood Juliette's disappointment in sending her son away again. Thus, the godfather kindly excused Luka from work the next two days before he leaves for Izan.

  Duchess Silverblade apprecia
ted this gesture, and she asked Luka to accompany her to the pegasus stables because he never did this before. However, Juliette made her son stand behind a fence because the magical creatures were extra-sensitive to male presence. According to her explanation, these beasts were female, and male hormones would drive them wild and uncontrollable. Thus, only female stablehands cared for these animals.

  Luka duly stood behind a white fence with Bel and Gripper. He watched as his mother rode on a majestic-looking pegasus around the field.

  Then Juliette got off and fed an apple to her steed. She coaxed the animal to approach her son. But the fence kept him six feet away from it. "Luka, this is my partner, Mira."

  Bel glared at it with his red eyes.

  The pegasus snorted in derision.

  Luka noticed the hostility between them. He grabbed the rabbit and held Bel in his arms. "Behave," the owner admonished.

  Mira sniggered and tapped a horseshoe on the ground. The creature dismissed Bel by turning around; her tail swayed as if to taunt Bel.

  [What a bitch!] The demon complained.

  "I'm going to perform some drills with my squad. Do you want to leave and do something else?" Juliette asked.

  Luka shook his head. "I don't mind sticking around and watch," he replied.

  She was delighted by his response. "Okay." Juliette put on her helmet and climbed on her pegasus. She asked Mira to join the group of six pegasus and valkyries standing at center field. "Formation A!" she barked.

  Mira galloped along the ground while leading the group. Their collective dash sounded like thunder. The squadron of animals stretched their wings, took off, and started climbing higher in the sky!

  Luka cranked his head and watched in awe as the majestic creatures enter an inverted v-shape formation with Mira in the lead. Then the group changed into various shapes such as a triangle, a circle, a vertical line, and a horizontal line.

  Juliette drew a lance from her magic bag, and the other members did the same.

  Assistants on the ground began shooting clay discs in the air, and the squad immediately chased them down. When the flying creatures were close enough to the discs, their partners stabbed their lances to collect the discs.

  Luka counted a hundred discs launched in total, and he saw the knights engaged in a friendly competition to gather the most. The observer used his Spatial Sense to track their progress. Twenty-six discs fell to the ground before the chasers could reach them. Out of the remaining 74, Juliette collected the most discs with 17. The rest gained 15, 13, 10, 8, 7, and 4 pieces, respectively.

  Luka thought this game resembled an aerial version of women's soccer because everyone chased the same item and interfered with each other through various tricks. Some riders worked in unison to block an opponent's path. Sometimes, the contestants knocked their rival's lances aside. The observer suspected that if the participants didn't wear helmets, they would resort to pulling each other's hair as a distraction.

  Also, Luka noticed that the steeds purposely bumped each other and broke the rider's concentration. The animals aggressively collided, and their wings entangled occasionally. Consequently, the pegasuses dangerously lost altitude before they separated and desperately avoided crashing.

  When the 100th and final clay disc fell to the ground, the game was over. Juliette landed safely with her steed. The stablehands approached and began to count the discs hooked on each lance. When the examiners declared Juliette the winner, she nodded as if expecting this outcome.

  The squad leader climbed off Mira and handed her partner to a stablegirl. Juliette turned toward the valkyries and confirmed that each person held a lance. The leader clapped her hands. "Start!" she barked.

  The knights separated into groups of two and began to attack with each with lances.

  Meantime, Juliette practiced solo.

  Luka was surprised by her strength because she held the heavy weapon in her right hand and swung it freely. He activated his Critical Insight and discovered many holes in her defense which he could exploit. Thus, the watcher concluded that his mother's proficiency with a lance was relatively low.

  The experienced fighter believed that Juliette would benefit from body enhancement magic. Unfortunately, she lacked talent in light spells and couldn't gain access to such buffs. The next alternative was to find a magic item with the appropriate enchantment. Luka decided to look for it during his upcoming travel. While he wasn't familiar with Izan, Luka assumed there would be shops along the way to search for magic items.

  Luka stopped watching his mother's training. Instead, he decided to practice light magic because the upcoming trip would heavily rely on it. Luka jabbed his finger with a sharp knife to make it bleed, and then he cast Advance Cure on his small wound.

  The stablehands watched from a distance. The girls thought Luka was crazy with his self-mutilation and that he couldn't keep up with his rapid expenditure of mana. Some observers started counting his spells and placed bets on how many Luka would cast before running out of mana. When the caster reached double digits with no hint of stopping, they were amazed by his mana pool.

  Juliette noticed the commotion that her son created, but the mother declined to intervene. She realized that he was practicing magic and approved of his use of valuable time in this manner. Thus, mother and son kept their practice for the rest of the afternoon.

  At the fourth bell in the afternoon, the squad leader ended the training session and dismissed her team. Juliette left the practice field and accosted her son. "It's time to go home," she said.

  Luka looked up at her. "Yes, mother." He cleaned his knife and put it in his magic storage. Then the two slowly walked back to their guesthouse.

  "Do you practice with your squad every day?" he asked.

  "Yes," Juliette answered. "Sometimes, we go on aerial patrol around the city. I asked Urquina to purchase your supplies for the trip and leave them in your room. You should check and see if you need anything else. She's waiting upstairs now."

  "Yes, mother. I will go to my room," Luka replied. He climbed the staircase and reached his bedroom.

  "Welcome back, young master," the maid greeted outside his door. She opened it for him.

  "Mother said you purchased my travel supplies and asked me to check if anything's missing," Luka told her as he entered the room.

  "Yes, I purchased the goods with the expectation that it should last four weeks," Urquina confirmed.

  Luka saw a big pile of bags, crates, and barrels on the ground next to his bed. He started inspecting their contents while the servant watched. The food consisted of dry rations such as cured meat, fruits, and nuts, while the barrels contained drinking water.

  The young lord came across a backpack containing a week's worth of food and water, plus a rope and spare clothes. The crates and barrels contained more edibles. Urquina also purchased camping gear such as a tent and a sleeping bag.

  Luka winced when he saw this equipment because he already had a set from his dungeon field trip at the royal academy. However, Luka left his stuff at the dormitory because he assumed the school would hold another trip next semester. Thus, the servant wasn't aware that the heir already possessed camping gear. Luka could quickly teleport via his magic beacon and return to his dorm room to pick up the outdoor supplies.

  The heir noticed the anxious look on Urquina's face. He decided not to mention this issue since Luka was at fault for not notifying her beforehand. Instead, the young master focused on what he needed besides these purchases. "Urquina, I need the following: a map of the Morninglory Kingdom, a journal or notebook, parchment, writing quill, and inkwell. I also require a potions bag containing two vials of cure poison, four healing, and six mana recovery."

  Luka noticed the servant's skepticism and tried to enlighten her. "While it's true that I could cast healing spells on afflicted people, I might come across an antimagic zone. So it's prudent to have a backup plan," he explained.

  "You are wise beyond your age, young master. I will purch
ase those items tomorrow. Will there be anything else?"

  Luka shook his head. "You may go," he dismissed her. He began to place the supplies in his dimensional storage.

  The servant curtsied and quietly exited the room.

  * * *

  Luka joined his mother for early practice the next morning. He marveled at her physical endurance because Luka had watched her engage in a full workout with her pegasus squad yesterday afternoon. Indeed, Juliette felt some soreness and aches in her body.

  Since today would be the last spar for a while between the two, the participants were extra motivated and fought harder than usual. Bang-bang-bang! Their wooden swords nosily clashed as neither combatant yielded ground.

  The sticks bent and groaned under the hard impact as the combatants continued to swing with full strength on every exchange. Bang! Bang! Snap! Finally, the two swords broke!

  Luka and Juliette backed away immediately as each person examined his weapon and saw that it snapped at the midpoint.

  "Let's end the practice here," the mother announced with a faint smile. Juliette felt happy that Luka fought her to a draw. "You are free to walk around the city today. You don't need to accompany me to the pegasus stables. Very few citizens are privileged to enter Lumina. That's why you should take advantage of this opportunity to roam the city to your heart's content," she declared.

  "Thank you, mother." Luka appreciated the day off because he wished to visit the bell tower.

  The two returned to the guesthouse and ate breakfast before Juliette departed, leaving her son behind. She gave him the day off to make last-minute arrangements for the Granden family and run errands.

  Luka responded by first teleporting to his Alaife Dungeon and feeding a month's worth of Alraune's divine energy to the dungeon core. He checked the gold vein and extracted the precious mineral from it. The dungeon master also reviewed the defenses and made modifications until Luka was satisfied. He kept the dungeon relatively small at five levels to minimize its maintenance costs.