The next morning came, and Leonard couldn't hide his excitement about his next venture into the tower. For some reason, he had become intrigued by the feats of this world. The adventure it promised was something he wanted to understand better.
He left the inn and headed to the tower, but as he arrived with only a small amount of money in his pocket, he hesitated.
'I still don't have gear,' he thought, a slight worry creeping into his mind, but he quickly dismissed it. 'I'm a summoner. I'll worry about it later. I don't have enough money right now.'
As he was about to enter, he noticed that the huge guard from yesterday was absent, replaced by a young man. This man was the opposite of the bulky one from before. Although Leonard had a few questions, he decided to save them for the bulky guard.
Leonard finally entered the tower again, gradually becoming more familiar with the surroundings. The tower had different worlds on each floor, each with missions to accomplish in order to ascend to a higher level. However, he wasn't too concerned with the tower's missions since he still had an ongoing mission with the system.
'My goal here is to earn money, nothing more,' he reminded himself, determined not to get distracted or overly interested in climbing the tower. 'Although it would be nice to climb the tower, I have 89 days to complete the mission or face an unknown consequence.'
Observing his surroundings, Leonard heightened his vigilance. Ahead of him stretched woods of purple and green; he hadn't yet reached the clearings of this floor. He expected to encounter a few chanaks sooner or later.
"Zeus," Leonard called out, and within a second, a lightning bolt appeared from the sky.
"Hey, what do you want this time?"
"Have you learned more about this world? You said you were going to look into it," Leonard asked as he searched for a log or a large rock to sit on. He had a plan in mind but decided to set it aside for now.
Zeus nodded, though he wasn't sure what to say. This world was just too bizarre for him, yet he felt a small spark of interest.
"What I learned first was the basics of this world. How about you?" Zeus tossed the question back, making Leonard smile awkwardly.
"Ha… I thought so. Oh, come on, the mighty Zeus has turned into a basic human with no knowledge. Can you help me out here?"
Zeus's lips twitched as he pointed at Leonard. "You should watch your words, you know. You're extremely rude, and I don't like it."
Leonard's mouth snapped shut as he bit his lower lip. "Sorry. I'm a bit impatient. I'll try to work on my attitude."
Zeus smiled, then nodded as he began sharing his discoveries.
"This world you're in is one of many that have towers. But let's not get into the others; let's focus on this one. It operates on a gaming system for Players, who are relatively few in number. Most earn the system through a Philosopher's Stone, while others get it by luck or genetics. How did you earn yours?" Zeus asked calmly.
Leonard had already gone over this in his mind, so it was easy for him to answer. "I got it from my deceased parents. They left me an orb, and when I cracked it, I was brought to Olympus. Then I woke up to find my village being attacked. That's when I wished for power and summoned you."
Zeus nodded as they shared their insights. Slowly, Zeus came to terms with the fact that his fate was now tied to another world—to a teenage boy who had died of cancer back on Earth. If they were connected by the mysteries of this world, it meant this world was more significant than Earth or even Olympus.
"I still can't accept it. I'm nothing but a mere summon here." Zeus gestured to a log for Leonard to sit on. "I am the king of the Greek gods."
"I know that… Sorry… I didn't mean to step on your pride and honor. I should've been more aware of my behavior. I didn't realize I was taking advantage of you," Leonard said, feeling a pang of guilt. He never intended to be rude; he had simply been confident that Zeus would fulfill his needs.
Reflecting on his actions, Leonard realized he had been acting too carefree. His sense of entitlement came from viewing the gaming system and his unique skills as something that put him above others, and he had seen Zeus as just a character from a myth.
But Zeus, in this life, in another world, was proof that he was alive and real, with feelings of his own.
"Don't be bothered by it. I don't need apologies. I am Zeus, the king!"
'Never mind,' Leonard thought.
"That's all you discovered?" Leonard asked, curious. "I've learned some things too. But let's focus on the system. I have some speculations about how to summon you for longer periods."
Zeus, intrigued, smiled. "So, what are they? I want to explore this world as well."
"Well… wait, are you saying you actually want me to summon you more often? You enjoy it that much? I thought it annoyed you," Leonard said, surprised.
"I do look forward to every summon. But it's your attitude that gets in the way," Zeus replied frankly.
"Ah…" Leonard was at a loss for words as he organized his thoughts. "I'm thinking of lowering your magic output. When you used your powers, I noticed a significant drain on my magic points, which led to my collapse."
Zeus nodded, recalling that he had speculated the same when he saw Leonard go down. "Yeah… I thought so too. I'll give it a try."
Zeus began focusing deeply, concentrating on his divine powers. He had learned to suppress his powers during his occasional visits to Earth for pleasure.
"I still have it." He mumbled as his authoritative and divine aura slightly diminished, though it wasn't completely gone. Leonard nodded, noticing the change.
"That's good… How about you try hunting chanaks with minimal output for now? Can you do that? I'll observe the changes in my magic points."
Sensing no ill intention from Leonard's words, Zeus agreed. He recalled the chanaks he had electrocuted the previous day.
Without wasting any time, Zeus searched for creatures nearby. From a short distance away, he spotted one.
With his powers suppressed, the range of his detection was smaller, but it was still decent by human standards.
[Experience Points +10]
"I got one," Zeus reported, anticipating Leonard's reaction.
[Magic Points: 49/50]
"Hmm…" Leonard felt elated by the result; his idea was correct. "I've summoned you for more than two minutes now, and you've used some of your powers. But I've only lost one magic point."
Zeus couldn't hide his emotions; he clenched his fist and pulled it inward. "Nice!"
Seeing Zeus's reaction, Leonard chuckled briefly. 'Is this really the mighty Zeus?' Deep down, Leonard felt a genuine connection beginning to build between them.